Coffee?
by beckettxwine
Summary: Ten years in the past, Kate Beckett and Rick Castle cross paths and a spark flares in the process. Are they willing to put out the fire that's starting to spread? AU!Fic.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, sadly. _

"Mr. Castle if you are late for my class again you will need to escort yourself out of my class permanently." Richard Castle nodded his head and walked to the only seat left in the class. The girl at the table was stunning. She has honey brown wavy hair and although her legs are spread and wrapped around the legs of the chair, she looks graceful as ever. Richard has seen her before- in the class? He set down the books he was holding and held out a hand,

"I'm Rick Castle, hi," he whispered. The girl- Kate? - looked at his hand and shook it quickly, only looking away from the professor to mumble her name.

"Kate Beckett," She gave him a small smile and pointed to his book. "105." Looking back at the professor, she moved so her ankles crossed and she was leaning her chest into the table they were seated at. Rick stared at her while he flipped through the pages of his book. Beckett, why did he know that name? As if reading his mind, she turned to face him.

"My mom was murdered in an alley two years ago." Kate pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the professor again.

"I-I'm sorry," Kate nodded and turned to him again.

"It's fine. They got him, so, justice is served I guess?" She shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"They can say justice is served but it never really is for people that have to deal with the loss for the rest of their lives." Kate turned to him and blinked. Did he lose someone, or is it just the writer in him? He lifted his shoulders a bit and turned his head to the professor.

Rick didn't say anything for the rest of the class, but once in a while Kate noticed him staring at her and she turned away every time due to the blush that heated up her cheeks whenever she felt his eyes on her. Kate took a minute to take in what was happening in front of her. She was sitting in a classroom, in college, next to Richard Castle, bestselling author, Kate's favorite author.

When the professor dismissed them, Kate stood to leave, and noticed Rick blocking her path.

"Do you want to go grab a coffee?" Kate's jaw almost dropped but she cleared her throat in time for the shock in her body to become noticeable.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Kate looked down and cursed herself again, knowing he could probably see the red growing on her cheeks. If he did, he didn't show it, he only smiled and gestured for her to lead the way. They picked up their books and made their way out of the now empty classroom.

As they were about to make their way out the doors and onto the street, Rick grabbed Kate's arm. With a sharp intake of breath, she turned to him.

"I really don't want to sound like I'm bragging, or that I have an enormous ego, but you know who I am, right?" His eyes were something she hadn't expected from him. They weren't happy or expectant, or even scared, they were just soft. Welcoming.

Kate narrowed her eyes and bit her lip, cocking a hip and putting her hand on her cheek.

"I've seen you somewhere… Maybe… Do you work at the local coffee shop? Maybe the bookstore?" Kate let her lips fall into a straight line, trying not to laugh. Of course she knew him; anyone who has been a bookstore knows who Richard Castle is.

Rick smirked and stuck his tongue out at her. She threw her head back and laughed a laugh that made even Rick's heart leap.

"Beautiful." Kate's smile fell and her eyebrow quirked.

"What?" For the first time in a long time, Rick blushed.

"Y-your laugh. It's beautiful." Kate bit her lip and moved her eyes to the floor, mumbling a thank you that even Rick had trouble hearing. She made her way outside of the door Rick was holding open for her, and when he stepped out behind her their shoulders bumped. Kate giggled and looked up at him.

It was sunny out and the way her hair framed her face made the sun bounce off her face with extreme beauty. As they turned the corner, Kate blinked rapidly against the bright lights of camera flashes that were blinding her face. She turned to look at him and he took her in slowly. She was never like any of the other woman he's seen, or even loved before. Why is she so different? Why wasn't she freaking out?

A/N: I am really excited to start this. It's going to be a day by day fic, for one entire month. The month it is set in is January. At this time, since it's only two years since Johanna's murder instead of 13, Beckett is 21, Castle is 29 and Alexis (Who will come in later) is only 5. To make it clear Castle and Beckett are both in the same college, both planning on becoming cops. I really hope you guys enjoy! There will be a new chapter up every day!


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Yeah I own Castle. Ha. Haha. Ha…_

_As they turned the corner, Kate blinked rapidly against the bright lights of camera flashes that were blinding her face. She turned to look at him and he took her in slowly. She was never like any of the other woman he's seen, or even loved before. Why is she so different? Why wasn't she freaking out?_

Rick pulled on Kate's arm and leaned his mouth to her ear.

"Say nothing," Kate nodded and swallowed, her throat dry. She knew she looked calm but she was trying to hard to maintain the stability of a calm person walking through this.. Cult of people. She cleared her throat but Castle was pulling her through the crowd with his head held high. Kate was replaying his words in her head as she heard all of the questions being thrown around the small space.

"_Are you his new Mistress?"_

"_What's your name?"_

"_Do you go to the college? How old are you?" _

Rick's hand became tighter on her elbow when the suggestions started flying out of these vultures' mouths.

"_She's just his whore!"_

"_He's using her to make Meredith jealous!"_

"_She probably sells drugs!" _

Kate was still following Rick, dumbstruck. Where do people even come up with this stuff? A drug dealer? She was wearing jeans and a cardigan, for God's sake!

When they finally cleared the crowd, Rick released her arm but said nothing to her. He didn't even glance at her. When they reached the local coffee shop, he held the door open for her and she thanked him.

Sitting down, he turned to her and clasped his hands together.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't expect it to be that bad."

"It's fine. After my mom died, my dad and I had to leave town for a while because people were so rude and pushy. I couldn't even get to my job without being hounded." Rick's mouth turned upward in a small smile, but his eyes had clear sympathy in them.

The waitress made her way over to the two.

"Can I help you two?" She asked. The girl was sixteen, maybe seventeen and blonde. She had on Chuck Taylor's and ripped skinny jeans. It reminded Kate of herself at that age. The pair looked at each other and simultaneously blurted out,

"Grande skim latte two pumps sugar, free vanilla." Kate's jaw dropped and they both looked at each other. Rick had a smile on his face that made his eyes crinkle. The waitress smirked and walked away to get their coffee.

The rest of their afternoon consisted of Kate and Rick in the coffee shop, chatting animatedly. Kate had met the man hours ago and she felt like she'd known him her entire life. It was a corny thing to think and certainly not something Kate Beckett would think. She'd expected rude and braggy. Egotistical. Once in a while a fan would interrupt their conversation, but Kate never minded.

She didn't tell Rick that she was a fan, or that she had all of his books. That was the exact difference between Kate and some fan of his, she wasn't a fan, she was just a girl in his class. A pretty girl in his class.

He'd noticed a lot of things about her in just mere hours of knowing her. He knew she was isolated. She answered her questions in a brief, protected way. She was stiff when they discussed family, so he tried to shy away from the topic. She had this wall up that he couldn't get through, no matter how hard he tried.

'_Maybe with time,' _he thought as he chuckled at what she'd just said. When Kate looked at her phone her eyes got wide and she stood abruptly.

"Oh my God! It's 8:45!" Kate took her jacket from the back of her chair and picked up her coffee. "I have to go." Rick stood with her and took her elbow.

"Kate, calm down," Rick chuckled and slid her arms through her jacket. Putting his hand on the small of her back, he pushed her towards the door of the coffee shop. Kate was still trying to put her words together to say something to him, but she found herself with a confused face even when Rick opened the door and ushered her out.

When they were standing on the sidewalk, Rick took out his phone.

"Do you need a ride?" He focused his eyes on her and she finally looked at him, at his face and his eyes.

"No, I was going to take a cab."

"You can catch a ride with me to save the money?" Rick pointed to a nearby gray Sedan, keys in his hand.

"No offense, but-"

"That always means you're about to say something offensive. Are you sure you want to damage my ego?" Kate smiled, showing her teeth, and looked up at him.

"I just don't want to take the risk of you kidnapping me and killing me." He mocked offended, putting a hand to his chest and inhaling sharply.

"Ouch, that hurts, Kate. But I understand." He stopped his hand and smiled a smile that reached even up to his eyes. It even made its way into Kate's heart. She bit her lip when he called for a taxi, it taking a few minutes because they were in New York. When it came, Rick opened the door and Kate stepped into it. Before shutting the door behind her, Rick poked his head in and smiled at her.

"Until next time, Kate." He whispered.

"Next time." Kate promised, pulling the door shut and leaning her head against the headrest with a smile that wouldn't leave her face until the next morning.

A/N: I loved doing this chapter! (Chances are, I'll say that for every chapter.) I'm truly awful with titles, so this one will probably be changed halfway through the story, but I hope you enjoy it regardless. To the person that reviewed, the story won't actually be set in college, they just met there. I'm sorry! I hope you guys like this! :D


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle!_

_"Until next time, Kate." He whispered._

_"Next time." Kate promised, pulling the door shut and leaning her head against the headrest with a smile that wouldn't leave her face until the next morning._

When Rick opened the door to the loft, he felt his legs become restricted and looked down to see a head of red hair. Rick dropped his keys into the bowl next to the door and leaned down to lift the girl up. As he did, he groaned.

"Ugh, Alexis, you're getting so big I can't even lift you up anymore." The girl giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You're just getting old, Daddy!" Rick laughed and kissed the side of her head.

"What are you still doing up?" His eyes flicked to the clock, "It's almost nine o'clock." He put her down and she ran into the living room with her father close behind. When Rick walked into the room, he saw Alexis' babysitter, Serenity, cleaning up a few coloring books and a box of crayons.

"Sorry I'm so late, I got caught up, thanks for watching Alexis." The girl was 22, and she'd been Alexis' babysitter for years since Alexis' mother was absent from both Rick, and the girls lives. Serenity smiled and put her hand on Alexis' head.

"It's okay, Mr. Castle, I always love spending time with Alexis."

"Will you ever call me Rick?" Serenity and Rick laughed as he ushered her to the door. He paid her and closed the door behind her when she gave her thanks and said her goodbyes.

Rick walked back into the living room to see Alexis standing near the table watching her father. Rick quickly pulled her into his arms and flung her over his shoulder, laughing as she shrieked and hit his back.

"Time for bed!" The two laughed as they walked up the stairs. Well. Rick walked, and Alexis was carried. Walking into the bathroom, Rick put Alexis down and dragged the stool from beside the toilet to in front of the sink.

"Brush your teeth so they can be white and pearly for tomorrow." Alexis stepped onto the stool, grabbed her toothbrush, and started humming the 'Happy Birthday' song.

After her third time singing it, she spit her toothpaste into the sink and hopped from the stool to wipe her hands and mouth on the nearby towel. She turned to face Rick and yelled

"Pajamas!" Rick followed her into her room and when he entered she was already looking through her drawers, moving aside anything that didn't fit her liking for that night. Finally, she picked out a set of pajamas, with monkeys across the shirt and pants. They were blue and said 'Daddy's Girl' in brown all around the pants.

Lifting her arms above her head, Rick slipped the shirt over her head, replacing it with the monkey shirt. Alexis made Rick turn around so she could change her pants and when he turned around she was headed for the bed. She crawled in and he sat down next to her, a hand on her forehead.

"Read me a story, daddy?"

"Not tonight, pumpkin. It's late. Just sleep, okay?" The girl nodded her head, turning on her side. She put her hands on either side of Ricks face and kissed his forehead. Rick smiled, and did the same thing. The same thing they've been doing since she was two.

"Night Pumpkin, I love you."

"Night daddy, I love you too." Alexis pulled the covers to her chin and put her hands under her pillow. Rick flicked her light off and shut her door quietly. Rick smiled softly and made his way to his room.

When Kate gave the cabbie his fare and stepped out of the cab, she was still smiling. When Kate walked into the elevator to go into her fifth floor apartment, she was still smiling. When Kate opened her door and slipped her shoes off, she was still smiling. When Kate walked into her bathroom and looked into the mirror, she frowned.

She'd met the man not eight hours ago; she shouldn't be smiling as much as she was. Well, him being Richard Castle, famous author Richard Castle. Hell, he was Kate's favorite author, why shouldn't she be smiling as much as she was? Because she didn't meet him as a fan.

She met him as a woman. As a classmate. A friend. Rick didn't even know she was a fan. He didn't know that she had all of his books, and that she even had one signed. Kate moved into the kitchen and pulled out the day-old Hamburger Helper, putting the bowl into the microwave.

As Kate leaned against the counter, her mind jumped to the pros and cons of meeting, having coffee with Richard Castle. Mentally marking the list as she went down them in her head, she tapped her fingers on her chin.

Well, he's famous. Kate shook her head. _Con_. He writes. _Pro_. He has two failed marriages behind him. _Con_. And then Kate stops. She ignores the beeping of the microwave, the noises she can hear outside. She even ignores the couple she can hear fighting across the hall.

He has a daughter. She can't be any older than five, at least, Kate thought as she took out the bowl from the microwave. She hissed as the heat radiating off of the bowl and set it down on the counter.

The girl? Not necessarily a con, but something that she would probably hear about soon enough. Not getting his number? Kate lifted her hand to make a check mark as she whispered to herself, "Pro." _For now_, she silently added.

A/N: I don't know whether or not I like this chapter. I thought at first that I would have the chapter reflect on the thoughts of both of them, but then I thought I would sort of point out how independent Kate is and how Rick has a daughter. So I hope you guys enjoy! :D (P.S. Sorry it's so late! It's been a stressful day!)


	4. Chapter 4

When Kate wakes up that morning, she wants to say it's been three, even four days since she spent the day in a coffee shop with Richard Castle, but when she glances at the clock it tells her different. It's actually only been one day. Kate slams her hand on the alarm that's been blaring for a few seconds now, and throws the covers off of her.

She swings her legs over the bed and makes her way to the bathroom, yawning and stretching in the process. After relieving herself, she undresses and steps into the burning shower. It's hotter than usual, as if she wants to wash away the events of yesterday.

After seven minutes, Kate steps out, and walks into her bedroom with a towel around her body. Rummaging through her drawers, she picks out a pair of slacks and from her closet gets a white long sleeved shirt. After grabbing a pair of underwear and a bra, she walks back into the bathroom and throws her clothes on.

After applying her makeup, Kate walks into the kitchen and her eyes avert to the clock. Shrugging, she grabs her coat and purse and leaves the apartment. Apartment coffee is never as good as she tries to make it, so it's no surprise to her coworkers when she texts them asking if they want anything from the local shop.

As usual, they answer no (Esposito not hesitating to answer 'No thanks, Detective), but she still makes her way to the little corner store. Kate shakes her head and smiles a bit to herself. She reads Espositos text message again, and her smile widens. _Detective Kate Beckett_.

Not only is Kate the youngest Detective in the New York Police Department, but she's also one of the only to become a Detective in such a short time. Kate steps out of the car with her badge on her pants, and slams the door behind her. She doesn't even flinch when she steps on the sidewalk and someone runs past her with a spilling coffee, on the phone, holding a briefcase.

In fact, Kate laughs at the man. Her smile descends when she walks into the coffee shop and (literally) bumps into no other than Richard Castle.

"Oh, I'm so sor-" The man stops mid-sentence and smirks at her. "Kate."

Xxxxxx

At 6:30AM, Rick is not surprised when he hears his door creak open, and Alexis jumps on the bed. Rick groans but sits up, leaning against the headboard.

"It's Saturday Alexis, what are you doing up? It's only six thirty." Alexis looks at the clock, and back to her dad.

"Daddy you promised me you'd take me to the park today! Come on!" Alexis tugs on Rick's hand and groans, throwing her head back and collapsing onto the bed. "Daddy, come on! I want to swing!" Rick huffs a dramatic sigh and throws his legs over the side of the bed.

"Alright fine Alexis, I'm up. Are you dressed?" The girl opens, but then closes her mouth.

"No.."

"Are your teeth brushed?"

"No, daddy." Rick watches her for a minute, sees her bottom lip pointed out in a pout, and he slams down his hands on his bed, causing her to jump. When she looks up, he's smiling and looking at her, now standing.

"Good, I haven't done that either!" He whispers. He lifts Alexis off the bed and she laughs, running in front of him and out the door. He yells at Alexis to get dressed and that he'll be up there in a minute to help her brush. Rick takes the bread from the nearby pantry, takes out a few eggs from the fridge.

Putting the bread into the toaster, he puts the egg he was about to crack back into the box when Alexis calls him to help brush her teeth. Rick takes the stairs two at a time, and when he walks into the bathroom, the girl is sitting on the stool next to the toilet, waiting for her.

"Scoot ya boot, little girl!" The girl laughs and he puts the stool in front of the sink, handing her her toothbrush. Rick knows she can do it herself, and although the stool isn't that far off the floor, the tiles on the bathroom floor will hurt her if she falls.

Alexis and Rick brush their teeth together, but Alexis spits before Rick and she hops off of the stool, running out of the bathroom by the time Rick spits, Alexis is calling for him already down the stairs.

After they eat, Rick and Alexis are on their way to the park. Alexis insists not to make a stop, but Rick says he needs coffee if Alexis wants to be pushed extra high on the swing. With a huff and a roll of her eyes, Alexis finally agrees.

Taking both of her hands in his, Rick pulls Alexis out of the car and they walk side by side, hand in hand. When they get into the coffee shop, there isn't much of a line, so they should be in and out of there fast. Rick gets his coffee, thanking the worker, and still holding Alexis' hand, makes his way towards the door.

Holding the coffee in his left hand, his daughters hand in his left, he looks down at her when she says something and literally bumps into someone. Thankfully, no coffee spilled from his cup.

"Oh, I'm so sor-" And then Rick sees who it is, and gives her a smirk. "Kate."

A/N: This is really early because today I'm busy and I won't have time to do it later. I'm really sorry about the whole marriage mix-up, I didn't realize he'd only been married once by the time Alexis was 5. I'm also really sorry about the whole college thing. I was thinking yesterday about how it didn't really make sense and so I thought that it could be a seminar for something. It wouldn't make sense for Kate to be in college if she's already a Detective, which I want her to be. Really sorry for the mix up, I know this is sloppy but I hope you guys continue to read!


	5. Chapter 5

_Holding the coffee in his left hand, his daughters hand in his left, he looks down at her when she says something and literally bumps into someone. Thankfully, no coffee spilled from his cup._

_"Oh, I'm so sor-" And then Rick sees who it is, and gives her a smirk. "Kate."_

Kate didn't want to look at the girl, she really didn't, but when she even glanced the girl was staring up at her like she was the moon. Kate looked at the girl, at her timid blue eyes that matched her fathers, her flashy red hair that rolled down her back, and she smiled.

The girl mashed her face in Rick's pants and poked only one eye out. Kate and Rick both laughed as Rick pulled the two of them into the coffee shop and out of the doorway. Rick looked down at Alexis and whispered something Kate couldn't hear, and the little girl lifted her head.

Alexis stuck out her free hand, the other still tightly gripping onto her fathers, and blushed.

"I'm Alexis." Kate kneeled to her height and shook her hand, smiling.

"I'm Kate." Alexis looked up at her father and he smiled down at her.

"It's nice to meet you." Kate stood and looked down at her,

"It's nice to meet you too, Alexis. But I better go, I'll be late for work. It was nice seeing you again Rick." Kate waved to Alexis and made her way to the door. She stopped when she felt Ricks hand on her arm.

"Kate, wait," Kate turned and Alexis had, again, buried her face into her father's pant leg. She looked at Rick when he held out a card for her. She took it and flipped it to the back, revealing a ten digit number. Kate smiled and took the card, promising to call him later, and returning the favor by taking his phone and putting in her number.

When she walked out of the shop, she was still looking at the card he gave her. Coffee-less. Kate laughed to herself and turned, walking back into the store to get her coffee. By the time she walked out of the store again, Rick and Alexis were already heading down the street.

Xx

When Kate arrived at the precinct, bag slung over her shoulder, coffee in her hand, she was stopped halfway to her desk.

"Yo, Beckett, remember that dude a few days ago who stayed the night because he was drunk? Christian Revero?" Javier Esposito walked in front of her holding papers. Kate thought for a minute, and then nodded her head. "He's back. Drunk again, but this time the guy punched his buddy."

"His buddy? What do you mean his buddy?" Kate dropped her things on her desk and leaned against it to look at her co-worker. Esposito held up a piece of paper and handed it to Beckett. "Joscar Molten. Him and Revero got in a tussle at a bar last night. Revero's still in lock up."

Kate nodded her head and looked at the photo of Molten, but then furrowed her brow and looked at Esposito.

"I don't understand why this matters." Esposito's lips quirked and he pointed to the interrogation room.

"On his way in, Revero slipped out that Molten may have killed his ex. Shelby Florece. When we went to her apartment, she sure was dead. For a week and a half. We were waiting until you got here to talk to the dude." Kate pushed off the desk and started walking towards the interrogation room.

"Thanks Espo," Kate said, turning to give him a small smile.

The case was short, and easy. It only took Kate about forty-five minutes before Molten sobered up to admit he killed his girlfriend because she cheated on him. The rest of the day was spent filling out paperwork and teasing her co-workers. At around seven o'clock, her phone vibrated.

'_You never got around to calling me, busy day? –Rick' _Kate set down her pen and typed quickly, but not too quickly.. She didn't want to seem eager. Wow, didn't want to seem eager? What is she, fifteen? She rolled her eyes at herself and sent a text back.

'_Not really, just forgot about you.' _Kate smiled as she sent it, and when she actually looked, her phone read 7:15. She stood, picking up her jacket and her purse, throwing both over her shoulder.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna head home, you should go soon too." Esposito just smiled at her, but Ryan waved and called,

"See you tomorrow, Boss." Kate stopped and turned to him, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

"See you tomorrow, Ryan." Kate took the stairs instead of the elevator, since there were around six people in the elevator. Making her way into her car and headed home, she stepped in, and smiled at Rick's text.

'_Already? That's sad. I thought we might have had a spark.'_

Xxxxxx

Rick walked out of the coffee shop with his hand still in Alexis' as they made their way to the car. After buckling her in, he got into the driver's seat, made one more glance towards Kate, and smiled. She was staring at his number. Pulling onto the street, he watched Kate descend behind him.

When Rick got to the park, he pulled Alexis out of the car and they made their way towards the swings. As Alexis ran, Rick called for her not to leave his line of sight. She got to the swings and climbed on, pumping her feet and trying to get higher. Rick watched her for a minute before sneaking behind her and giving her a boost.

"Daddy no! I wanna push myself!" Rick laughed and backed up as he watched her push and push, and finally she got higher. Of course after the swings, they went on the see-saw, then the slide, and then they went back to the swings. At around noon, Alexis said she was hungry.

Buckling Alexis up for the third time that day, Rick drove slowly back to the loft. When they arrived, Alexis was drooling on her shoulder. Shaking her awake, Alexis moaned and reached her arms out for her father to take her. Carrying her into the building and holding her throughout the elevator ride, he finally put her down on the couch when they got into the loft.

Rick made the two sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, because it was Alexis' favorite. He just went along with whatever she suggested. Placing the two plates on the table in the living room, he made his way into the kitchen to get two cups of milk, and two napkins.

Returning to the living room, he shook Alexis. "Come on Lexie, I made us PB and J's." Alexis rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"Oh you didn't have to daddy; I'm not that hungry anymore." Rick laughed and rubbed his hand down her hair.

"You will be later, I promise you that. Come on, eat up and then you can finish your nap." Alexis and Rick ate in silence, Alexis still half asleep. When she finished her sandwich, she rubbed her eyes and looked at her father.

"Who was that lady at the coffee shop today?" Rick smirked and sat down across from her.

"I met her a few days ago." Alexis nodded her head and pushed her hair behind her ears.

"Is she your new girlfriend?" Alexis looked at him through her eyelashes, watched his brows furrow and his hands come together.

"No, sweetie. She isn't my new girlfriend. Not only would I date someone without you meeting her first, but I wouldn't date a woman without you liking her. Okay?" Alexis lifted her whole head and smiled lightly at him.

"You promise?" Rick held up his large pinky to her tiny one. She lifted hers and the two tangled in each other.

"I promise pumpkin." Rick kissed her forehead and took the plates and cups into the kitchen, disposing of the napkins. When he looked at the clock, he was shocked to see it says 1:17. He walked back into the living room and Alexis was yet again, asleep.

Rick carried her up to her room and laid her in the bed. He kissed her on the forehead and walked out of her room, leaving it open since it was daytime. When she awoke, it was around three and they decided to stay in since it was a bit chilly. Rick had Alexis pick out a few movies for them to watch, grabbed a few blankets, and made popcorn.

Halfway through the second movie, Alexis leaned heavily against Rick's arm and when he glanced at her, she was asleep. 'She's only five, how the hell does she sleep so much?' Rick turned off the movie and turned on the news. It was normal news, deaths, weather, and another celebrity going to rehab.

Rick picked up his phone and checked his messages. Most were emails from junk sites, but a few were from her publisher and one was from his mother. He read it and replied, it being a usual email between the two, asking how work was, how Martha's acting was.

When Rick looked at the time he was amazed at how much time Alexis and he had wasted today. Rick scrolled through his contacts until he reached the only one in his phonebook that read Kate.

'_You never got around to calling me, busy day? –Rick' _Hitting send on the text, he set the phone on his legs and leaned his head against the back of the couch. Why was he so eager for her to call? He's acting like a fifteen year old boy who has a crush.

Maybe he should start pulling her hair and leaving around love letters for her. His head snapped up when he felt his phone vibrate, and it was already in his hand by time the vibrating had actually stopped.

'_Not really, just forgot about you.' _Rick smiled to himself, replying quickly, his hands used to the typing on his computer; still his fingers were a little big for the keys. Rick smiled to himself as he sent the next text, hoping she would understand the truth under the sarcasm he tried to interpret.

'_Already? That's sad. I thought we might have had a spark.'_

A/N: Wow! I had a really, really tough time with this chapter. I don't know why I just could not find the inspiration to complete this chapter. I really hope you guys enjoy this! Sorry it's so late, was having problems with FFN!


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Don't you think if I owned Castle, Castle and Beckett would already be married?_

'_Dinner tonight? Found this good Italian place last night near the café, already reserved so you can't say no.'_ Kate smiled as her fingers swiped at the keys on her phone, quickly sending a text back.

'_Are you sure I can't say no? That sucks me in, you know..' _Kate had been texting Rick all day today and until she'd fallen asleep last night. He even sent her a goodnight text that she woke up to when she stopped answering him.

Right now it was around 4PM and she was filling out paperwork. Ryan and Esposito were tossing a koosh ball back and forth having finished their paperwork about thirty minutes ago. Kate noticed the two of them glancing at her once in a while, wanting to go home of course.

Kate finally put her pen down and looked up at the two, sighing. They all stared at each other, eyes going back and forth between the three of them before Kate turned back to her desk.

"Alright, go home." The pair gathered their things and said their goodbyes before Kate could even look up and when she did, her phone was blinking. She picked it up and read, smiling.

'_Sorry, you're stuck with me. Meet me at my loft at 7?' _

'_I need an address, Mr. Rich-Lives-In-A-Loft-Castle.' _Kate's heard swelled when he said she was stuck with him. She wanted to be stuck with him. _No_, she just wanted to be _with_ him. Can five days of knowing a man really do this to her? She'd already met his daughter. _Hell_, she thought, _she'd already pushed his daughter on the swing and watched her climb the monkey bars._

When Kate, Rick and Alexis went to the park two days earlier, and Kate had enjoyed herself more in four hours of being with them than in the two years it's been since her mother's death. She felt almost guilty for not thinking much about her mom while they were all together. Kate reached up and rubbed her hand along the ring around her neck.

Rick texted Kate the address and she made her way out of the precinct and to her house with a skip in her step.

xxxxxx

"Mads, I have nothing, absolutely nothing!" Kate stood in front of her closet next to her best friend, Madison Queller, who was searching through her closet for something to wear tonight. Turning to Kate, she let her hands fall on her thighs.

"Okay, I figured this would happen, so.." Maddie walked out of the room, and returned holding two dresses. Both were the same length, and both were absolutely beautiful. "I brought these. Pick one."

Kate smiled and scanned the two, then pointed to the one on Maddie's right.

"That one is perfect."

An hour and a half later, Maddie and Kate were hugging goodbye and Kate was making her way to Rick's loft for their dinner-date. Date? _Wow_, Kate thought, _date._

xxxxxx

As Rick hobbled through his room, one arm in his shirt, his belt unbuckled, he took a glance at the clock. Mumbling a curse under his breath, he put his other arm in his shirt and buckled his belt. He heard a knock at the door when he'd finished on the last button and called for them to come in.

Kate poked her head in, but when she saw Rick, she entered fully. The watch Rick was trying to clasp to his wrist fell to the floor and his mouth fell open. Kate smile shyly and looked down. She was wearing a knee length body fitting gray dress, with a shoulder strap. The strap was covered in jewels and Kate's straightened hair flowed along the jewels.

Rick bent down to pick up the watch he dropped and started towards her. When he finally clasped the watch together, he looked back up at her.

"Kate you look.." She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"You're not so bad yourself." When Rick had asked her to go to dinner with him, he figured she'd wear a dress, but this is far more than Rick had ever expected. Rick kissed her on the cheek and put his hands on her shoulders.

"You are definitely not my mother." And at that, there was a knock on the door along with Alexis calling to her father.

"No, but that might be. You get the door; I'll see what Alexis wants." Rick released her shoulders and headed towards the door, Kate moving to the stairs. When Kate walked into the girl's room, she dropped her clutch on her bureau and moved quickly to sit next to Alexis on the bed, pulling her hair back from her face.

Alexis had her face in her trash barrel, and Kate could smell the usual vomit smell that had escaped from the barrel. Kate pulled her hair into a loose ponytail, still holding it behind her head.

In the past few days, Kate has gotten relatively closer to Alexis, and also to Rick, so seeing the girl leaning over her bed, wrenching into the trash barrel made her heart clench. For a second, and just a split second, Kate wondered if this is what her mom felt like when she was sick.

Alexis finally stopped heaving and leaned her head and body back against Kate's. Kate leaned forward, grabbing a tissue and wiping Alexis' mouth rid of throw up. She threw it into the trash and slid her shoes off.

Climbing onto the bed and leaning her back against the wall, Kate held her arms out for Alexis, and the girl climbed into Kate's lap. Kate ran her hand down Alexis' hair and leaned her cheek against the top of her head. Kate kissed the crown of her head and held her as tight as she would hold her own.

When Rick knocked at the door and leaned against the doorframe, Alexis yet again plunged forward, her head going toward the barrel. As gracefully as she could in the dress, Kate kneeled next to her, still on the bed, and held the stray pieces of hair away from Alexis' face.

When Alexis was finished, Kate yet again wiped her mouth and they returned to the positions they were in earlier. Rick sat next to Kate on the bed with their shoulders touching and put his mouth to Alexis' ear, letting her know he was there.

Both Rick and Kate were expecting Alexis to move to her father; Kate loosened her grip on Alexis, only to have her tighten hers around Kate's neck. Neither of them commented on it, Kate because she was shocked as hell, Rick because he didn't find anything wrong with the situation.

"Where's your mom? Was that her at the door?" Rick nodded.

"Yeah, I should probably go send her home. It looks like we're spending the night in." Shooting her a sympathetic look, he bent to kiss Alexis' forehead. He then turned to Kate and kissed her temple, standing up and walking out. Kate sat stunned and counted until four until Rick returned to the room, a hand over his mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Kate!" Kate held up a hand and shook her head.

"It's fine, Rick. Really. Go talk to your mom." Kate smiled at him and as Rick walked out of the room Kate's smile became wider. She pulled Alexis closer to her chest and leaned her cheek on the top of the girls head. Maybe they were good for her. Maybe Alexis and Rick were good for her.

_A/N: I really liked this chapter haha, I enjoyed writing it! I hope you guys like it! As you can see it doesn't really follow a day-by-day thing anymore so if that lost your interest, I apologize. Obviously my mind likes to take these ideas into its own hands. I hope you stick around! _


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I don't own Castle._

When Rick returned to Alexis' room fifteen minutes later, his heart warmed at the sight he walked into. Kate's shoes were still on the floor, her clutch on the bureau next to him and she was sitting on Alexis' bed with the girl in her lap. Rick knew she wasn't asleep, but Kate had her cheek rested on Alexis' head and her eyes were closed.

Kate's hands were running through Alexis' hair and the girls arms were around Kate's waist. Rick leaned against the doorframe and watched them for a few more moments. Rick took a slow breath and thought about the woman he'd met only six days ago who was already becoming so welcomed into his home, his life. _His heart. _

He'd met her and he knew she was something different, but the way she affected him was shocking to him. He never thought he could think of a woman the way Rick had felt about Kate. No, he didn't love her, but there was something he couldn't quite figure out about her that drew him into her.

He took in the realization that Kate, a woman he'd met six days ago, was sitting in a dress in the middle of his daughter's bed, with his daughter on her lap. Kate looked up then, finding his eyes quickly. She lifted her head and smiled.

"Hi." She whispered, arms still wrapped around Alexis.

"Hey," Rick stepped towards her and Alexis moved a bit. He stopped halfway to the bed, let Alexis stop stirring, and then made his way across the room. Rick slipped his own shoes off and climbed on the bed next to Kate.

"Do you want her?" Kate glanced down at the girl, letting her arms fall from around her.

"No, she looks comfortable." The two shared a smile and Rick looked at Kate. "But as comfortable as she looks, I don't think you want vomit on your dress." Kate laughed and leaned her head against Rick's shoulder.

"Yeah, you're probably right. But I don't want to get up yet, so she can stay like this for a few more minutes." Kate closed her eyes, her head still leaning against Rick's shoulder, and Rick smiled. He smiled until Kate's phone blared from inside of her clutch on the bureau. Kate's head flew up and Alexis moved to her father's lap, and then to the barrel, yet again emptying her stomach.

Kate was standing near the doorway while Rick rubbed Alexis' back, whispering words in her ear. When Kate answered the phone, Rick cocked an eyebrow and looked up at her.

"Beckett." A pause. "Yeah, okay. Where?" Another pause, and Kate took out a pen and a sticky note from her clutch. "Alright, I'll be there soon." Kate hung up the phone and threw it back into her clutch, turning to look at Rick.

"You're leaving?" He asked, now settling Alexis, who was clearly not listening to them as she curled her arms around her pillow and turned away from them.

"Yeah, we have a case." She didn't mean to let it slip, considering she still hadn't told him she was a cop.

"A case?" Castle is now standing, and picking up both of their shoes. He nods towards the door and they walk out it, Rick leaving Alexis' door slightly ajar.

"Uh, yeah, I'm sort of a cop." Kate grimaced as the two made their way down the stairs.

"A detective."

"A detective?" Rick handed Kate her shoes and she held his arm for balance as she put them on.

"A homicide detective." Now that caught Rick's attention. His jaw dropped and.. Was he smiling?

"That is so cool!" Rick's face broke out in a smile and she opened and closed her mouth a few times, not exactly knowing what to say to that reaction.

"Uh, I guess," Kate laughed awkwardly and picked up her clutch, with the sticky note still attached to the front of it. "I'm really sorry; I didn't expect them to call me tonight. It's my night off, so it's obviously something big." Rick was still smiling at her as he put a hand on the small of her back, letting her walk in front of him to the door.

"Eh, I got a sick kid, I guess we're even. Rain check?" Kate opened the door and let her hand rest on the handle as she turned around to face him, almost to his eye level in the heels she was wearing. Kate smiled and kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger far too long.

"Rain check." And with that, she walked out, shutting the door behind her.

_A/N: I have three things I can do with this. I can make it a not important case and just have it have been a small one, I can start a case that would just be a regular case, or I can start a case involving Castle. Tell me what you guys want to see! I hope you enjoy this! :D _


	8. Chapter 8

When Kate finally got into her house the next day it was just starting to become light outside. The city that never sleeps was now yet again reflecting off of the water nearby and Kate was completely wiped out. Kate pushed open the door to her apartment, and when she glanced at the clock it read 8:01AM. She could hear her alarm going off faintly from her room.

Dropping her bag as she walked into the kitchen, she slid her heels off and tossed them near the shoe rack at the door. Kate ran her fingers through her hair. When she'd cancelled the date Rick and her had planned and reported to the precinct two nights ago, she didn't expect to be starting a 37 hour case.

The only time Kate had been home in the past two nights was to change out of the dress she'd been in for her and Rick's date. The care was hard for her, which was a change. She could usually handle any case; children, wives, husbands, grandparents. She only realized this one was so hard for her once Rick had texted her letting her know that Alexis was feeling much better.

A four year old boy had been found dead in a large space bag, burned and stabbed. She wouldn't tell Rick, but whenever she saw the little boy she couldn't help but imagine him being Alexis. When they'd found out who the killer was, Kate felt her blood run cold and she had to excuse herself for a few minutes.

The father of the boy had killed him because he wanted to spend more time with his wife. He even thought he was doing well for both of them, considering they hadn't had a night out in almost four months. Kate felt sick as she watched the man write his confession, and she even hugged the boy's mother, giving her most sincere apologies.

Kate was just happy to be home now. She fell onto her bed and let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes and cursing loudly when she heard her ringtone from across the room.

"What?" She nearly yelled into the phone, not bothering to look at the caller ID, just angry at whoever was distracting her from sleep.

"Well I'm gonna say your final answer is 'not so good' to the question 'how are you?'" Kate closed her eyes and put a hand over her forehead.

"Rick, I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to be you, I'm sorry." She sighed deeply and he chuckled.

"It's fine, how did the case go?" Kate groaned and leaned against her headboard.

"I just got home. I'm really tired. Do you mind if we talk later?" As if to prove it, a yawn came from Kate's throat and Rick laughed.

"Sure, call me when you wake up."

"Alright," Kate hung up the phone and was asleep before her phone even locked.

Although Kate had only slept for around six hours, she woke up feeling refreshed. She pushed her hair out of her face and stretched her arms above her head. After she relieved herself, she picked up her phone and was surprised to see no messages. She texted Rick, letting him know she was awake and asked how Alexis was doing. When he answered with a simple 'fine' she pressed the talk button on her phone.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, hello to you too. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit."

"Excuse me? You've known me for what, a week and a half and you act like you just know me and know when I'm not in a good mood?" Kate was taken aback by him, and she cleared her throat.

"I- fine." Kate pushed her hair back, feeling like she'd just been smacked. "Just.. Call me when you're not in a pissy mood."

"Kate, wait-" She didn't let him finish before she hung up. She didn't need his attitude on her day off and as much as she wanted to help him, she didn't deserve it.

Kate took a quick shower and decided today was a good day to finally pick up the new shoes she's been looking at for weeks now. Rick hadn't tried to contact Kate and she honestly wasn't surprised. If he needed to deal with what he needed to deal with, she wasn't going to stop him. When Kate stopped her car in front of the coffee shop, she got out, humming Piano Man.

Kate threw the door open and stepped inside the small shop, smiling at the woman behind the counter as she ordered. She was leaning against the counter, texting, when she heard her name.

"Kate?" She turned, and opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the woman behind the counter handing her her coffee. She took it and thanked the woman, turning back to Rick.

"Uh, hi," Kate bit her lip and looked down.

"Kate, I'm sorry, I really am. I know you were just being nice and I treated you like crap, I'm sorry." She sighed and he gestured to a nearby table. Nodding, Kate followed him to the table and they sat across from each other. Just like the first time they'd spent the day together. When she looked around, Kate even noticed that they were sitting at the same table.

"You were kind of a jackass." They shared a laugh and Rick put his hands on the table, looking into her eyes.

"I know. I really am sorry, Kate." Kate looked up and was met with his eyes. She bit her lip and nodded.

"Are you at least going to tell me what was wrong?" Rick rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"Meredith, Alexis' mother, came around today. She wanted to take Alexis out to lunch and I told her that Alexis was still getting over being sick and she just kept asking so I finally said yes but now I'm afraid Alexis is going to come home sick."

"She didn't care that Alexis was sick?"

"No. She never cares about anything but herself." Kate leaned forward and put her hand on his shoulder, smiling a bit. She then stood and looked down at him.

"I have to go get new shoes, I was just going there and I'd like to know what you think." Rick stood and smiled at her, putting his hand on her back and leading her out to her car, since Rick had walked from his apartment.

"You know, we're gonna need to reschedule that date."

When Rick entered his apartment after shopping with Kate, he sighed in relief as Alexis' laugh lingered throughout the apartment. Rick walked into the kitchen where his mother and Alexis were sitting at the table coloring in a few of Alexis' coloring books. He kissed Alexis on the top of her head, and then kissed his mother on her cheek.

"Hello, ladies, having fun without me?" He asked, reaching into the fridge to get a bottle of water.

"Oh, Alexis was just telling me about her new friend, Kate." Rick stopped mid drink, and started coughing. Water spurted from his mouth as he ran to the sink to catch the rest of the water that hadn't made it down his throat. "Oh, so you know her?" Martha rolled her eyes and went back to coloring.

"Uh, how much did she tell you about Kate? Because we aren't together or anything." Rick replied in between coughs.

"No? But I thought the two of you were going on a date the other night?"

"I- We- We were but I- We're not dating, Mother."

"Rick, I didn't ask if you were dating the girl, I simply was telling you that Alexis told me about her." Rick sat down across from her and looked her dead in the eye.

"We're not dating. Sure, she's beautiful and I may be beginning to have feelings for her, but we're not dating as of right now." Martha leaned across the table and patted Rick's cheek.

"I wouldn't judge you even if you were, son."

When Kate had woken up the next morning, she'd expected it to be from a call to head to a scene, or even a call from Rick. She didn't expect to be woken up because of her stomach needing to empty itself. Kate pretty much jumped out of her bed and almost didn't make it to the bathroom, getting there just in time.

Once she finished vomiting, she flushed the toilet, washed her face and her hands, and walked slowly back to her bedroom. She felt dizzy. Really dizzy. Whatever was happening right now was probably from Alexis and a part of her felt bad for Alexis having to feel this.

Kate sat on her bed and reached for her phone, picking it up and noticing it was only around 6AM. Feeling the urge to yet again empty the contents of her stomach, Kate ran out of her bedroom and to the toilet. After a few minutes of just lying on the cool tile bathroom floor, she heard her phone ringing.

"Hello?" She yelled, as if that would actually answer the phone for her. Kate groaned and lifted herself from the floor, basically crawling to where her phone was on the floor, halfway between the bathroom and bedroom.

"Beckett." She answered groggily, trying not to sound too sick if it was a case.

"Jeez, you sound awful." Instead replied a voice she instantly recognized.

"Wow, thanks Rick, that's something I love to hear every time you call me." She could hear Rick laugh as Kate tried to stand, almost, _almost_ making it. She could hear him in the middle of a sentence when she ran back into the bathroom, phone still in her hand, and vomited. Lifting the phone to her ear when she finished, she sighed and laughed a bit.

"I guess now you know why I sound awful."

"Yeah, that was just… I think you should just tell me if you're sick next time, Kate." Kate laughed again and sat up, leaning her head against the wall and her knees pulled tightly to her chest.

"I'm sorry; I didn't know you were going to call." Kate yawned, "It's early."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I just wanted to see if you had work today but I'm going to take that as a no."

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner Mr. Castle." She heard him laugh this time and let out a giggle of her own.

"I'm gonna let you sleep. Feel better, Kate. I'll call back later." Kate smiled and closed her eyes.

"Thanks, Rick."

About forty-five minutes later, Kate was yet again awoken by something, but this time it wasn't her stomach, it was a knock at her front door. Looking through the peephole, she opened the door and was handed a bouquet of roses. Kate thanked the delivery man and walked into her kitchen, still extremely dizzy. She set the flowers on her table and took out the note attached to them.

'_For being a jackass, and for some color in your day other than what you're putting into your toilet. –RC' _

Kate grinned from ear to ear and set the card onto the table, but not hesitating to read it at least four more times before doing so.

_A/N: WOW! Long chapter! I'm so sorry I haven't updated! I've been extremely busy over the past few days but now that I'm on vacation, it's a lot less stressful. I will also have chapter nine out either tonight, or early tomorrow morning, so I hope you enjoy both! _


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle._

Waking up to a tile floor and being drenched in her own sweat wasn't how Kate imagined her morning. Or afternoon. Glancing at her phone and seeing the time was around noon, she groaned. Almost half of her day, wasted on a bathroom floor. As she stood, she tried to walk toward her kitchen but her stomach started doing flips that led her straight back to the toilet. Kate finally resulted to picking up her phone and sending a quick text to Rick.

'_How much would I have to pay you for you to run out and get me some flu medicine?'_

'_Depends on whether or not you're letting me stay.'_ Kate smiled at his quick response, and thought about actually letting him stay.

'_Oh please, you'll drop the meds and run the minute you see how I look.' _Kate hadn't even looked in the morning yet, mostly because her stomach wouldn't let her stand up.

'_Never.' _Kate rolled her eyes and her stomach finally let her at least stand up to take a look at herself. Her hair was sticking up every which way and her shirt might as well have been a cloth to cover her chest. The makeup residue still from yesterday was rubbed across her cheeks, and she could feel her eyes stinging from where the eyeliner and mascara rubbed into her eyes. Oh yeah, he would definitely run.

Ten minutes had gone by and Kate still hadn't answered Rick, so when a knock on her door startled her from her half-sleep, her instincts kicked in and she almost reached for her gun. Standing up and slowly making her way to the door, she opened it after looking in the peephole, hand on her forehead.

"I didn't think you would actually come." Rick laughed and shrugged out of his coat, handing her the bag from Walgreens. She set it on the table and placed both hands on the table to steady herself, feeling a sudden wave of dizziness. She squeezed her eyes shut and silently pleaded for her stomach to keep its contents out of the toilet.

Of course it didn't listen to her.

Kate made a dash to the bathroom, a hand over her mouth. She slammed the door behind her with her foot once she was in and let her stomach empty itself into the bowl for the fifth time that day. She didn't hear a knock, but she heard the bathroom door creak open and when she lifted her head out of the bowl, Rick was kneeling next to her, rubbing her back.

Kate eventually fell back off of the toilet and onto the wall beside her, leaning her head against the wall she closed her eyes. When the tears didn't stop by her closing her eyes, and started blinking rapidly. It was rare that she ever cried, but being sick was one of those rare times. She hated being sick, even when she was a child she would just cry and her mother would hold her. Kate could deal with a cold. Kate could deal with a cough. Vomit? Kate couldn't deal with that.

Rick leaned against the wall next to Kate and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, her head falling to his shoulder. Still trying to keep her tears at bay, she opened her eyes and whispered,

"Don't you think this is going a little fast?" When Rick laughed, Kate's body jostled as well and surprisingly, she didn't feel sick. She didn't panic because she was leaning against him, she was calm. Neutral. As if it happened on a daily basis.

"I don't know, you were the one asking for me to take care of you when you're sick." Kate leaned her head off his shoulder and looked at him, gaping.

"I did not ask for you to take care of me."

"You asked for medicine. Close enough." Kate opened her mouth to respond, but was instead overwhelmed with a need to throw up. Rick yet again rubbed her back and kneeled next to her as she spilled into the toilet. She finished and ripped a wad of toilet paper from the roll, wiping her face. She tossed the paper into the toilet and flushed.

Kate tried to lean back into the wall, but was stopped by Rick's arm around her waist, his other arm under her knees.

"Rick what-" Before she could finish, he had lifted her up and was on his way into her bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and turned to walk back into the kitchen.

"Don't move," He ordered, pointing at her and moving into the kitchen. Kate nodded and pushed herself up so she was leaning against the headboard. When Rick came back with a bottle of liquid in his hands and a package of crackers in another, she almost squeed. Squeed. _So pathetic._

"God, I could kiss you!" Kate leaned forward and grabbed the medicine and the package, downing what she tried to assume was three tablespoons of the medicine. Rick laughed and took back the medicine, setting it on the nightstand. After a few crackers, Kate nudged his thigh with her foot and waved her hand at him. He stood and watched as she wedged herself under her blankets.

Soon, the only visible part of Kate's body was her face. She sighed and rolled her eyes when her phone blared from the kitchen sink. She tried standing to get it, but when she became dizzy, her hand automatically reached out to Rick, who was standing in front of her. He let her grab his arm and listened as the phones ringing soon died, and Kate was leaning her head in between her knees.

Rick kneeled in front of her and rubbed her back again, her hand still clutching his arm. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and watched her as her body finally relaxed and she sighed out of relief. Rick took her by the arm and watched as her eyes closed when she was sitting up. She was trying to take steady breaths hoping they would help, but they didn't do anything to help her. Instead, it took a minimum of five seconds before she was racing back to the toilet.

Rick listened as she heaved and finally stood to walk into the bathroom, only to be stopped by his phone going off in the kitchen. Walking to it, he rolled his eyes at the name that appeared on his phone.

"What?"

"Why Richard," Meredith's voice rang through the phone, "What a rude way to greet me."

"Hardly," Rick responded, rubbing a hand over his forehead. "What do you want, Meredith?" Kate had apparently finished in the bathroom, and was now walking into her kitchen with a hand rubbing at her mouth.

"Hey, do you want something to eat or something? I can't hold anything down but feel free to raid my- oh." Kate put a hand over her mouth when she turned to see a phone pressed to his ear. "Sorry!" Kate stage whispered.

"Richard? Who is that with you? It doesn't sound like Alexis." Meredith's agitation was clear through the phone.

"She's a friend of mine. What did you want, Meredith?"

"Oh please, like I'll buy that, seriously who is that?" Rick closed his eyes and leaned against the table.

"I just told you, she's a friend of mine. Do I need to hang up the phone, or did you actually need to talk to me about something?"

"Kate! I knew Alexis had mentioned a woman! You're dating her aren't you?" Rick pulled the phone away from his ear and set it down on the table for a few seconds before returning it to his ear.

"Yes, Meredith, her name is Kate. No I am not dating her. What do you want?"

"Well I was going to ask you to come to my hotel tonight but I see you're already entertaining yourself without me. Too bad, I've been really wanting to-" Meredith sucked in a breath, "Spend time with you lately."

"Well, I'm hanging up now Meredith." Rick pressed the end button over Meredith's pleas for him to not hang up on her. He looked up to find Kate's eyes staring back at him, her arms crossed, her body leaning against the fridge.

"I'm assuming you heard that," Rick smiled weakly and pulled a chair out, sitting in it. When Kate did the same thing in the chair next to him, he was shocked.

"She sounds lovely." Kate laughed and leaned her head in her hands, facing him.

"Oh yeah, she's just great." They both laughed this time, they didn't chuckle, or giggle, they laughed. By time the laughter died down, Kate was again standing near the fridge, still a smile on her face.

"Seriously though, like I was saying, you can feel free to raid my cabinets all you want. I may not have anything except for macaroni and cheese and takeout leftovers, but you can look." Rick smiled at her and shook his head.

"It's fine, I had food before I came here."

"Okay, well, it's there if you want it." Kate smiled and started towards the bedroom. "I'm gonna try to take a nap." Rick stood and followed Kate to her bedroom, grabbing her by the arms when she turned and literally ran into him.

"Jeez, Kate, what are you doing?" They both laughed again as he let her go and she turned back to her bed.

"I honestly don't know what I was doing." She said as she climbed under the covers once again, making herself a caterpillar in the cocoon of blankets.

"Maybe you just wanted to hug me."

"I doubt it; if I wanted to hug you I would have just hugged you." Kate smiled at him and he smiled back, his eyes crinkling. "Can I ask you something.. Strange?" She bit her lip and watched him intently.

"Sure, I guess."

"Will you come lay with me?" Kate watched as his face went from happy and laughing to worried.

"I- Are you sure, Kate? We haven't even known each other that long." Kate shrugged and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Are you going to try and kill me in my sleep?" The two laughed as Rick shook his head no and she again, shrugged. "Then I trust you."

Rick watched her for a minute, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, he was no longer standing above her, but he was making his way to the other side of the bed. He slid his shoes off, placed his phone onto the bedside table and climbed into her bed. Kate's bed. Richard Castle, best-selling novelist, had just laid down in Kate Beckett, Homicide Detective's, bed.

She had instinctively turned to face him and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Kate rested her head on his chest and let out a breath. She felt relaxed there. Kate wasn't thinking about work, or about her father's alcohol problem. She wasn't thinking about her mother or the woman that was just on the phone with Rick. Kate wasn't even thinking, she was just lying there. She felt at home.

Strange, considering she'd met the man not long ago, but she pushed back the part of her brain that said no and for once, let her heart, do the talking. Well. Her heart was actually screaming 'Yes! Stay!' Kate had ignored her heart too many times before this and now, this came first. She trusted her heart before her head and made a silent prayer that she was doing the right thing.

Once Rick thought Kate had fallen asleep, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and let his lips linger there for a few minutes.

_A/N: So so so so sorry this is late! I hope this extreme fluff and tonights "Linchpin" episode will help you forgive me! Enjoy! _


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I don't own Castle._

_The room was dark, but light enough that she could see her way around it. She moved forward, her gun in her hand, and sweat dripping down her face. Moving toward the lighted doorway, she stumbled on something on the ground and turned to see that it was a hand. Kate's face paled as she moved closer to the hand, being sure not to touch it, but close enough to see whose it was. When Kate saw the face of her mother staring back up at her, she turned and hurled into a nearby corner. She wiped her mouth and knew she had to keep moving. Now staring down at the floor to make sure there was nothing else there, she continued to the door. Kate stopped when she heard a soft call of her name and turned to find her father sitting close to her mother with a bottle of beer in his hands. _

"_I can't keep her forever, you know. Once I'm gone, you're gonna have to take her out of my hands." Kate's face scrunched up as she tried to think of what her father meant by what he'd said. "It's your turn now, Katie. Take her from me." Before Kate could react, her father took the gun that was resting in his hands, the gun that Kate hadn't noticed, and pulled the trigger after pressing it to his skull. _

"_No! Come back! No! Not you too!" Kate tried to scream. _

Finally Kate sat up in her bed and wrapped her arms around her knees, tears streaming down her face. She kept trying to say 'It was just a dream,' but it was coming out more like strong breaths than actual words. Kate didn't try to stop the tears, she didn't try to untangle the blankets from sticking to her, she didn't even try to push away from Rick's chest when he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him.

Kate let the tears end and her breathing finally steadied. She pushed her hair back into a loose ponytail after leaning off of Rick's chest, and then let her head fall into her hands. Rick didn't take his arm away from her waist, even when she was protesting against it being there. He knew she needed someone because she had no one. She was a rock. She could tackle suspects and she could watch as the monsters of the world wrote their confessions in front of her, but once in a while, just like everyone else, Kate needed someone to just hold her.

She wouldn't be the first to admit it. Ever. But he wasn't making her. He didn't need her to ask for him to hold her, or to tell her it was alright. He didn't need her to ask for him to be there for her. After a few minutes passed, Kate leaned back into his chest and sighed.

"I'm sorry." Rick opened his mouth to respond, but instead craned his neck and looked down at her.

"Kate, I- Don't ever be sorry for having a nightmare."

"You didn't sign up for this when you met me."

"Yeah, you're damn straight I didn't." It was Kate's turn to look at him. "But that doesn't mean I'm just gonna run away from you. That doesn't mean I'm not going to stay with you and let you lean on me because I didn't 'sign up for it.'"

"You don't need to do this," Kate untangled herself from Rick and stood up, trying to make her way to the kitchen when he caught her arm.

"I want to do this, Kate. I'm not doing it because I need to, and I'm not doing it because I feel sorry for you. I'm doing it because I care about you and I don't want you to feel like you have no one. You have me. You'll always have me."

"Promising thing to say to someone you met recently." Kate looked at him through her eyelashes, and then back down at his hand still wrapped around her wrist.

"A promise is a promise, no matter how long or short you've known someone." Kate smiled at him and he let go of his grip on her wrist. "So, I take it you're feeling better?"

"Yeah I'm feeling much better!" She laughed. "Really though," Kate turned to look at him, "Thank you for being here." Rick looked back to her and smiled widely, but still with affection.

"Always."

A/N: So I made this short I know, I know, I'm sorry! BUT, you get another chapter tonight because for the next few days I'm going up to my cousins house for vacation, so I won't be able to update. Enjoy!


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I don't own Castle!_

Two days had passed since Kate was sick, and since she'd had the nightmare and she was now sitting at her desk in front of a stack of paperwork. The case they were assigned two days ago wasn't as bad as the four year old child, but it still took a toll on all of them considering it seemed like everything was dead ends. Once Esposito and Ryan had gone back and searched the apartment where Juis Feresco was killed, they pulled back a painting on his wall to find a gun in a safe with the prints of Victor Kovosit on it.

Kovosit was extremely easy to break, and Kate and Ryan were only in the interrogation room for around an hour. Once he signed the confession, Esposito and Ryan took him down to booking and they all took the rest of the night off. The day before had been also filled with paperwork, just as today will be.

What Kate had assumed would be about three hours passed when Kate finally looked up from her paperwork to see that she, Esposito, and Ryan were the only people still in the precinct. Glancing down at her watch, she realized that it was around four o'clock and that she only had now two hours go get ready.

"Shit," She mumbled under her breath. "Guys I'm going to head out, would you kill me if I asked you to do the rest of my files? There's only about five or six." Kate turned to Ryan and Esposito and pulled her best puppy dog face.

"Yeah, fine, let me have them." Esposito held out a hand and Kate handed them to him, smiling.

"I owe you drinks soon!"

"Beckett! This is not six files! You owe me two rounds of drinks soon!" Kate laughed and waved at the two as she stepped into the elevator after grabbing her jacket and purse.

On the drive home, Kate tried to think of something else she could wear for she and Rick's date tonight, since he'd already seen her in Maddie's borrowed one, which she had taken back. Kate picked up her phone and let it ring three times before she heard the Maddie answer the phone, panting.

"Hey, hey, Becks, what's-" Maddie took a breath, "up?"

"God what, are you in the middle of having sex or something? Don't answer the phone if that's the case!" Kate smiled when she heard Maddie's laugh through the phone.

"That's really cute, Becks. I was out for a run. What's up?"

"I need a dress. Not the gray one, a different one."

"Oooh, you guys are finally going out on a date?" Kate rolled her eyes as she turned into her parking spot.

"It's been like four days, Mads. Do you have a dress I could borrow? I only have like an hour and a half to get ready; I got caught up in paperwork."

"An hour and a half? Sheesh, I'll be over there soon."

"Thanks, Mads." They hung up and Kate got out of her car and headed up to her apartment. Once inside, she turned her curling iron on and stripped out of her clothes. Getting into the shower, she turned up the water so that it was burning her. Quickly washing her hair and body, she stepped out of the shower ten minutes later. Kate wrapped a large towel around her figure, one in her hair, and unlocked the door for when Maddie got there.

Kate had just started blow-drying her hair when she heard Maddie's greeting come from the living room.

"In here!" Kate shouted from the bathroom.

"Okay, so I have two things you can try." Kate looked at them both. One was a red one shoulder dress that gathered at just above the knees. The second one was a gold strapless dress that went just past the knees. Of course, already coming prepared, Maddie was also holding a black shall in her hands.

"For the record, I recommend the red one." Kate smiled and took it from her.

"I was actually leaning towards it, great minds think alike?" The two laughed and Maddie left the bathroom so Kate could change into the dress. An hour later, Kate, dressed in the red dress, her hair curled, and black strappy shoes on, was knocking on Rick's door. From inside Kate could hear Alexis' quick footsteps approaching the door.

"Kate!" Alexis called when she opened the door.

"Hi, Alexis." Kate smiled as Alexis brought her inside.

"Daddy!" Alexis started running towards what Kate assumed was Rick's bedroom. "Kate's here, come on!" Kate laughed at the girl and leaned against the wall just outside of the kitchen. When a woman with short red hair and a dazzling smile covering her face came out of the kitchen in front of Kate, she jumped. After the two had finished laughing, the woman held out a hand.

"Martha Rodgers, I'm Rick's mother." Kate tried not to blush, but it was probably seen anyway.

"Kate Beckett, it's nice to meet you." Kate held out a hand and Martha brushed it away, pulling Kate into a hug.

"Our family hugs, darling! Alexis and Rick have said so much about you I feel like I already know you!"

"Thank you, Mother." Rick walked out of his room and was looking down, trying to put the cuff links onto his wrists. He looked up and cleared his throat, not saying anything for a few seconds.

"I agree, she looks beautiful." Martha stage whispered to Rick, who was still standing there looking at Kate.

"Thank you," Kate mumbled, glancing at Martha before looking down at the floor. Alexis came out of Rick's room, and that caused Rick to finally let his eyes leave her. Alexis pulled on his hand and dragged Rick to her eye level and then whispered in his ear. Rick laughed and lifted Alexis off the ground and into his arms.

"Why don't you just say it?" Rick asked, looking at Alexis, who shook her head and buried her face into his neck. When he looked at Kate, Kate smiled and the butterflies in her stomach didn't go without noticing. "She told me to tell you she thinks you look very pretty."

This time, Kate didn't try to hide the blush and she smiled, biting her lip.

"Thank you, Alexis." Kate said to the girl, once she finally lifted her face out of Rick's neck. The three looked at each other for a few seconds before Martha started towards Rick, taking Alexis out of his arms.

"Alright kids, time for you to go!" Martha handed Rick his phone and pushed he and Rick towards the front door. Once they were outside and walking to the elevator, Rick looked at Kate and kissed her on the cheek.

"They were right, you know. You look absolutely beautiful." Kate looked down and smiled, only looking up when the elevator door opened and the two stepped in.

Once the elevator door opened again, the two of them made their way out of his building, Rick's hand on the small of her back.

xxxxxx

Rick had taken her to a restaurant; an expensive restaurant. One, someone on Kate's salary, could only go to probably once a year. If that. Kate tried to choose somewhere else to go when they'd arrived, but Rick said he already had reservations for the two.

The night was filled with laughs and blushes. There was a jazz band playing, so they'd even danced a few times. By the end of the night, Kate's stomach was full, her feet were aching and she was almost falling asleep on Rick in the car. Kate hadn't realized that they had been out for five hours. Once they pulled up to Kate's building, Rick told the driver to give him a few minutes, and he took Kate's hand and led her out of the car.

Once they were standing near the steps of her building, she turned to him.

"I had a really amazing night, Rick," Kate smiled and looked up at him. Rick smiled back at her and before either one of them could repel, their lips were touching. It was soft, and caring. Just a brush of each other's lips, a feather. Until Kate reached her tongue out and glided it along Rick's bottom lip was it soft. They both searched each other's mouths as if they were on a hunt and Rick's hands came up to cup Kate's face. Kate reciprocated by holding his wrists, breaking off moments later.

Kate leaned her forehead against Rick's chin and he kissed her temple. Kate let his arms go and before he walked away, Rick turned to face her. He kissed her on the cheek and put his mouth to her ear.

"Goodnight, Kate." Kate could almost feel her heart pumping out of his chest when he turned from her and walked away, not looking back until he got to the car, opening the door. When Rick turned around she was in the same spot, smiling and watching him. Rick waved at her and stepped into his car, Kate watching him drive away.

Kate made her way up to her apartment and when she shut the door behind her, leaned her forehead against it, biting her lip. Kate took her phone out of her clutch, and moved to find his contact.

'_Goodnight Rick.' _

_A/N: Yay! Another chapter! Sorry this is a tad late, I expected to have it up earlier but I woke up late. As I said yesterday, I won't be updating until probably Saturday night. I'm bringing my notebook with me to my cousins house in case I get random inspiration to write chapter twelve there! As always, enjoy and thank you for reading! _


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

The next few days went by quick for Rick and Kate. They went on yet another date, and it ended with Kate feeling just as flush and high school teenager as the last time. The morning after their second date, Kate's phone rang at around six in the morning, only giving her about five hours of sleep.

"Beckett," She said into the phone once she retrieved it.

"Hey we got a case." Esposito's voice rang through the phone.

"Alright. What's the address?" After Esposito texted Kate the address, she got up, took a shower, and was out the door in less than thirty minutes.

xxxxxx

Kate arrived at the scene and after scoping out the place, her and Esposito discovered the .45 gun that was thrown into the trash near the body and knew the case would be wrapped up soon. There were prints all over the gun and they'd soon arrested the victim's co-worker, who claimed he needed the promotion the victim had just gotten to pay for his daughter's school.

Kate, Ryan and Esposito were happily leaving the precinct around five o'clock that day, and Kate had gone home and treated herself to a few glasses of wine and a warm bath. Walking into her room and throwing a DVD in, Kate wrapped herself up in her blankets and was asleep before the movie had finished.

xxxxxx

"Beckett," Kate answered the phone in a groggy voice.

"Maybe I should start calling you Beckett. I don't think you would even notice." Kate laughed and pushed farther into her bed.

"I would notice. Only people at work call me Beckett."

"Well then why do you answer the phone 'Beckett' when I call?" Rick laughed.

"I was sleeping and I didn't check the caller ID, thank you very much."

"Just this once I'll forgive you." Kate giggled and bit her lip. She was about to ask if Rick was doing anything today when she heard another call coming in. Glancing at the ID, she saw that it was Esposito. _Really? We just had a case. _She thought.

"Hey, Esposito's calling on the other line, give me a minute." Kate switched lines and got the address for the new case. Switching the line back to Rick, the line was dead. Kate rolled her eyes and stood from the bed, waiting for a text from Rick, knowing he was too impatient to just wait. Sure enough, it came a few seconds later.

'_Call me when you're able to do something. Rick.'_

Kate quickly responded that, of course, she would call him the minute she was available. After quickly getting dressed, Kate locked her apartment and was on her way to the address Esposito had given her.

xxxxxx

Kate knew that the minute she arrived at the crime scene something wasn't right. The position of the victim made her stomach churn and it took a clearing of her throat to finally talk to Esposito and Ryan.

"Did anyone see anything?" They shook their heads and Kate kneeled in front of the woman, now asking what her cause of death had been. The stab wound. Of course. Kate stood and called Esposito and Ryan to where she was. "I'm going to head back to the station, see if I can pull anything up on her. Financials, jobs, anything like that."

"Alright, call if you need us, boss." They knew it had been hard for her to arrive today. They weren't going to protest her going home because of something like this.

Kate took one last look at the brunette woman slumped against the brick wall, a stab wound in her stomach and walked to her car. Halfway there, her phone rang.

"Beckett," Kate answered, not taking the moment to look at the caller ID. Again.

"Daddy," The voice she heard was quiet, "I don't think it's the right number." Kate smiled, recognizing the voice of Alexis Castle.

"Alexis, it's me, Kate, it's not the wrong number."

"Who's Beckett?" The girl asked still quiet, but no longer whispering.

"I'm Beckett. My name is Kate Beckett and the people that I work with call me Beckett, not Kate." Stepping into her car, Kate connected her phone with the Bluetooth, and then attached it to her ear.

"Why?" Alexis asked. Kate turned on her car and pulled out of her spot, starting towards the station.

"I.. Don't know," Kate's brows furrowed.

"Okay." She dropped it quicker than Kate would have guessed. "You wanna come over and go to the park? Daddy says he'll take us." Kate laughed when she heard a muffled 'I did not!' come from Rick. Listening to the girl, Kate could tell that she was smiling. She could hear it in her voice.

"I can't sweetie, I'm so-" Kate's words were cut off with a loud scream and her phone disconnecting, flying from her ear as her head crashed into the window.

xxxxxx

"Okay. Wanna come over and go to the park? Daddy says he'll take us." Alexis was bouncing on her father's lap and the phone was on speaker phone in her lap. Alexis' face fell at the next few words that came from Kate.

"I can't sweetie, I'm so-" Kate's scream was heard through the phone and then the phone lit up as the words 'Disconnected' flashed back at Rick. Alexis looked up at her father, who was still staring at the phone and she put her hand on his cheek.

Martha walked down the stairs a few seconds later, her smile dropping when she saw the fear on Rick's face.

"Richard?" Rick jumped up and put Alexis on the ground, going back a few text messages before he found the one he was looking for. She'd sent him the location of the crime scene and he was now extremely grateful that he asked when she told him she had a case. Grabbing his keys and wallet and shoving them into his pockets, he ran out of the house, asking Alexis to explain to his mother.

He felt guilty leaving Alexis, felt even more guilty leaving her with his mother, but he had to know what happened. Sure, they'd only known each other for around a month, and they'd only been dating for a week or so, but he was worried nonetheless.

xxxxxx

Rick pulled onto a street near the scene, rechecking his phone quickly to make sure he had the address right and his mouth gaped when he was stopped by a police officer, standing in the way of an accident. A car accident.

Rick stepped out of the car and walked as close as he could to the cars. One of them was a silver truck, its bumper hanging off the front. The other cars driver's side window was smashed, and there was a large dent in the door. Blood trailed along the steering wheel and the hubcap from the front wheel was about two feet from the car.

Rick's breath caught in his throat and his blood chilled when he recognized the car. Kate's car.

_A/N: I'm so so so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I've been super busy and this is the first I've had my laptop all week! I promise I'll try and update sooner! As always, enjoy and review! c:_


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: I don't own Castle._

_xxxxxx _

_Rick pulled onto a street near the scene, rechecking his phone quickly to make sure he had the address right and his mouth gaped when he was stopped by a police officer, standing in the way of an accident. A car accident._

_Rick stepped out of the car and walked as close as he could to the cars. One of them was a silver truck, its bumper hanging off the front. The other cars driver's side window was smashed, and there was a large dent in the door. Blood trailed along the steering wheel and the hubcap from the front wheel was about two feet from the car._

_Rick's breath caught in his throat and his blood chilled when he recognized the car. Kate's car._

"Kate!" Rick yelled. He saw Kate being pushed into an ambulance on a stretcher, and ran to the ambulance. He tried to get to her, tried to talk to her or hold her hand, do something to make sure she was still alive.

The paramedic leaned down toward Kate and then called to the officer that was holding Rick back, "Who's Rick?" He ran to the paramedic, ignoring the officer calling his name.

"Me, its me, me, I'm Rick." He was breathing heavily and when he looked down at Kate his breathing stopped altogether. "Oh, Kate." There was blood from her temple to her shoulder, some dry; mostly new and fresh. A few shards of glass were still in her wound and her arm was filled with bruises.

One of the paramedics asked Rick to back up and he watched as Kate was lifted into the ambulance.

"You can't come in here sir," A paramedic said to Rick. Rick blinked and looked at the doors being shut.

"I- Wh- Why?"

"Only family. I'm sorry, sir, we're going to the nearby hospital, you can meet us there." The man turned and started towards the ambulance.

"I am," He turned back around to look at Rick, "I'm her fiancée." He watched Rick for a minute, watched fear and anger flash in and out of his eyes. Finally, he opened the doors to the ambulance and Rick climbed in next to Kate, grabbing her hand.

"Kate," She tried to open her eyes but all she found she could do was tighten her grip on his hand. She tried to speak, but she couldn't get any sounds out. "Hey, don't, it's okay, don't say anything." When Kate finally opened her eyes, Rick saw that they were flooded with tears. "It's okay, I'm right here."

Kate's eyes closed again and she squeezed his hand and Rick's eyes widened when the steady rhythm of the beeping of her heart started to fade into one straight beep.

"What's happening? Is she okay? What's going on?" The medic that was in the back with them immediately started to move into action and Rick leaned back to give him room so he could do what he needed. The doors of the ambulance opened and there were already three or four more people standing outside, starting to pull the stretcher out.

Once they got it fully out, Rick and Kate's hands were disconnected. Rick jumped out of the vehicle, following Kate until they got to a door with a large, red OR written on it.

"Sir, you can't come back here." The medic stopped and faced Rick as Kate was pushed into the room.

"I- Is she okay? Who hit her? How long will it be?" Rick put his hands on his head and leaned against the wall.

"It was a drunk driver-"

"At one in the afternoon?" Rick screamed.

"Sir, please calm down." Rick nodded his head in apology. "We don't know how long the surgery will take. I will update you as soon as I know anything."

Rick thanked him and sat in a chair in the waiting room, leaning his head in his hands.

xxxxxx

It was now around nine o'clock and Rick had only gone home around seven to change and feed Alexis, with a promise of a call if anything happened.

As expected, nothing happened.

When Rick pushed open the door and looked up to see Martha following Alexis into the foyer, Rick kneeled to Alexis' height.

"Where's Kate, daddy?" She asked him. Rick was looking at his mother as he spoke.

"Kate's at the hospital, baby. She was in an accident earlier and hit her head really hard." Martha placed a hand on his shoulders and kneeled down, hugging Rick.

"Is she okay?" Martha asked, pulling away.

"I'm not sure. She's been in surgery since around two." Martha tried to smile and kissed Rick on the cheek. Rick looked at Alexis and picked her up walking to the kitchen. "Let's get some food into that belly, eh?"

Rick made Alexis mac and cheese and throughout it they had small conversation. There was no mention of Kate, or the phone call. Martha noticed Rick checking his phone every few minutes, and finally asked him about it.

"Waiting for a call?" Martha asked while Alexis was in the bathroom washing her hands.

"Yeah, the hospital said they would call me if there were any updates on Kate." Martha wrapped her arms around him and whispered in his ear,

"She'll be okay, Richard." They stepped apart and Rick smiled at her, watching Alexis walk back into the kitchen.

"Alright Little Lex, let's get you in bed." Rick lifted Alexis and groaned, but laughed.

"But what about Kate?" Rick stopped and looked at her. Her face was red and her eyes were rimmed with tears. "Is she okay?" Rick glanced at Martha, and then walked up to Alexis' bedroom.

He laid her down and changed her into her pajamas, not saying anything as he did.

"Alexis, Kate got into a bad car accident this afternoon. That's why she yelled when she was on the phone with us. She is in surgery and I'm not sure how she's doing." Alexis wrapped her arms around Rick's neck and a single tear fell onto Rick's shoulder.

After around twenty minutes of just holding Alexis, she was asleep. Rick laid her into her bed and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. He kissed her forehead and whispered goodnight, and walked out.

Walking down the stairs, he noticed his mother sitting on the couch in the living room with a cup of wine in her hands.

"I'm going to head back to the hospital, alright?" Martha looked up at him and smiled as he checked his phone again. She stood and kissed his forehead, patting his shoulder.

"Be safe." Rick kissed her cheek and walked out of the house, on his way back to the hospital.

xxxxxx

At exactly 9:54PM, Rick stood up from his seat and greeted the man which he assumed was Kate's doctor.

"Miss Beckett's impact was more severe than expected considering she didn't see it coming. The most impacted area was probably her temple. She has a concussion, and there was massive brain swelling that we luckily got under control. She also lost a lot of blood, which is why she blacked momentarily in the ambulance. She's on heavy pain drugs right now and she's very drowsy, but she should be awake if you want to go in and see her."

Rick smiled and when the man extended his arm, he pulled the doctor into a hug. The doctor seemed stunned, but Rick was all smiles for the time being.

"What room is she in?" Rick asked.

"173." The doctor smiled and watched as Rick ran down the corridor.

Walking into Kate's room, Rick expected to see Kate lying in her bed. Instead, when Rick walked into the room his breath was lost and his smile fell. She was hooked up to many machines, and she had gauze wrapped around her head. Half of her arm was purple and the other half was covered in a hospital gown.

Kate smiled slightly, turning to Rick in the doorway.

"I'm alive; you can stop looking at me like that." Rick walked to Kate, placing a hand on her face, the other wrapping his fingers around Kate's weak ones.

"I thought I lost you. You can't do that to me again, Kate." Kate almost rolled her eyes at his tone of voice.

"Rick, I'm not that important, and I'm fine."

"Kate, not that important? I just spent six hours in that waiting room, and one hour with my daughter who fell asleep crying because she didn't know if 'her Kate' was going to be okay. You act like we don't care about you. You act like just because we haven't known each other for years that I don't care about you. That my family doesn't care about you. We do. You're like a part of our family, Kate. We were all worried."

When Kate finally looked up at Rick she had tears in her eyes. No one had ever said anything like that to her. After her mom died, everyone seemed to leave. They all cared about her the first month after, and then she was alone. Not even her co-workers knew how to talk to her in a basic conversation without knowing if they were saying the right thing or not.

Not even Madison was there when she needed her. Her dad had fallen right into the bottle and chances are, he didn't even know about her being in the hospital. She tried to help him. She tried to be there for him and help him, but he always refused. So she finally stopped.

To have Rick say such a thing to her made her heart clench and she laughed teary. Rick kissed her on the forehead and she smiled. He grabbed a nearby chair and sat next to her, still holding onto her hand.

"Thank you, Rick. I don't know if I'm going to be able to say it enough in these next few days." Rick looked up at her with the first light in his eyes she'd seen since he walked in the room.

"Always."

_A/N: Yay! Of course I wouldn't kill her off or anything like that, pft! Anyway, I was going to update this yesterday, but then I figured I'd let you suffer. c: Enjoy and review! _


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: I own nada, zilch, nothing! _

Over the next few days, Kate progressed slowly. She'd insisted she should be back at the precinct only two days after the concussion and had even tried to convince one of the nurses that she was okay with going. When Captain Montgomery found out, he banned her from the precinct until she had a doctor's note.

Four days after she was checked into the hospital, Kate was being released. Kate hopped out of the hospital bed, walking past the ready wheelchair that the nurse was gripping the handles of.

"I'm not riding in that." Kate pointed to the wheelchair and started to the door, walking right into a large figure. Rick looked down and Kate, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm not riding in that." She said again, her eyes moving to rest on the chair. Kate reached for one of the two coffee's Rick was holding, but he held it up out of reach.

"Why won't you ride in it?" Rick asked, still holding the coffee above Kate's head.

"Because I am perfectly capable of walking by myself."

"Miss, I understand that, but it's hospital protocol." The nurse chipped in, Kate now glaring at the nurse instead of the chair. The nurse shrugged her shoulders and continued to stare at Kate. Kate crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, turning back to Rick.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"You'll get out of here sooner if you just ride in it, Kate." Kate rolled her eyes and trudged to the wheelchair, plopping down in it.

"Can I have my coffee now?" Rick chuckled and handed her the cup, moving behind her now, silently thanking the nurse with a nod of his head. Placing her bag on her lap, Rick handed her his cup of coffee as well.

"Got everything?" Rick asked as he started moving the wheelchair out of the room.

"Yep." Kate smiled, taking a sip of her coffee. Rick pushed her out the doors of the hospital after thanking the rest of the nurses he recognized who'd helped Kate, and only stopped when they were about three feet away from his car.

After Rick helped Kate into the car, (and by helping they mean Rick holding the door open and Kate pushing him away from her,) he stepped into the driver's seat and watched her head loll onto the headrest. Although it was still early March, Kate rolled down her window and breathed in the air. She looked over when she heard Rick laughing.

"I have been in that hospital for four days, fresh air is nice for me right now." Rick laughed again and Kate laughed with him, until her face scrunched up as they passed the street to her house.

"Rick, my house," Kate looked back, seeing as the street was now behind them.

"What about it?" Rick glanced at Kate with a small smirk on his face.

"Where are we going?" She asked, now facing him.

"You're staying with me for a while."

"Excuse me?" Kate was now sitting with one leg under her other, her body completely facing him.

"The nurses said you need to stay with someone for a few days so they can watch over you, so I thought, who better than me?" Rick was now beaming at her.

"My father can stay with me." But he couldn't. Because he was in rehab for being an alcoholic. He wasn't supposed to get out yet, and Kate didn't even know if he knew about the accident. _Rick didn't know that_. Kate almost smiled at her thought. She could say her father was staying with her and be alone.

She liked Rick – a lot – but she wasn't about to stay at his house for a week and completely interrupt he and his family's life.

"My dad can stay with me." She said more confidently this time.

"Really? And who's going to stay with your father?" Rick turned to face her as they were now stopped at a red light.

"Huh?"

"Kate, I tried to call your dad, to talk to him about the accident." Her breath hitched in her throat and she opened and closed her mouth a few times. Her head was starting to hurt and she could feel her eyes start to sting. She wouldn't cry in front of him. She wouldn't. Kate looked out the window and Rick laid a hand on her knee.

"Kate, c'mon, I didn't know."

"I – can you drop me off on State's Ave?"

"At the rehab?" Kate's head turned to Rick and this time, she didn't try to hide the tears, or the crack in her voice.

"Yes, Rick. To the rehab where my father is because he's an alcoholic and I couldn't handle him. Do you have any more questions about my life? Would you like to know where my mom got stabbed, or better yet, the restaurant we were supposed to be going to when we found out?" A few tears had fallen and more were coming. Rick's hand still rests on her knee as he takes a deep breath and turned back to the road.

"No." Kate's head whips towards him and he doesn't even flinch.

"No? _No_? Rick, I have known you for one month. One. My best friend, Madison, who I've known since freshman year of high school, doesn't even know about my father, and hopefully she won't ever have to. So excuse me if I'd like to see him and be away from you. I didn't give you permission to weasel into my life."

"Kate, I didn't weasel into your life. Don't you remember what I said at the hospital? I don't care that your father is an alcoholic. I don't care about the tragedy involving your mother. They're a part of you, and since they are, I will take them. Do you think I'm going to leave you because I found out?"

Kate stayed silent, but tears were still falling down her face when he spoke again.

"I don't know who my father is, and I don't think I ever will know. When I was eight, my mother slapped me for behaving badly. I will never forget it. The first short story I wrote was when I was eleven, and the bullies at my school tore it up and flushed it down the toilet."

"What are you doing?" Kate cut him off halfway into his speech.

"I'm telling you things about me. Things that don't usually come up in normal conversation for me because they are something impacting that's happened to me. Your mom? I know that hurt for you. How could it not? But then your dad goes into rehab after she dies? Not even two years after she dies? You feel betrayed, Kate. And lost, and alone, and forgotten. But you'll never be forgotten."

"Stop," Kate placed her hand on his arm.

"What?" Rick glanced at her for a second before looking back at the road.

"Pull the car over." Rick looked both ways before pulling halfway onto a nearby curb. When the car was stopped, Kate's seatbelt was already back in its normal spot and it took Rick a moment to realize the wetness on his shoulder was Kate's tears. Kate's arms were around his neck and although the position was awkward, Rick loosely wrapped his arms around her waist.

Kate didn't know how he knew those things. In her reality, she didn't care how. She just cared that he knew them. Kate didn't know why Rick cared so much about a broken girl he met a month ago. She didn't know why he continued to protect her, to show her he cares. She didn't understand why she was so big to him.

And then it hits her. It doesn't matter why. It matters that it's enough. Her being okay is enough for him, and him being there for her is enough for her. It was enough for now.

_A/N: I'm really sorry this is so late! Tomorrow I will be putting up chapters 15 and 16. I probably won't be able to update much over the next few weeks. I have try-outs for softball, a huge test that I'm supposed to be taking and prep for the test. I hope I can get them up sooner rather than later, but I make no promises. Read, enjoy, and review! They really mean the world to me and thank you for those of you who do review! :)_


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

Walking into Rick's house, Kate slid her shoes off and hung her coat on the stand.

"Is anyone here?" Kate asked as she joined Rick in the kitchen.

"I don't think so. Alexis has school and Mother is rehearsing today."

"Oh," Kate sat down at the table and looked at Rick. "Hey, do you have anything I could wear? We didn't stop at my apartment so I don't really have any clothes."

Rick jumped up held his hand out to Kate. She took it and they walked into his bedroom, and Rick let go of her hand to walk to the dresser. She took a few seconds to look at everything in his room while he got her clothes. There were pictures everywhere. Of Alexis and him, him and his mother, even one of Alexis with who Kate assumed was Meredith.

Rick handed her a pair of sweatpants and one of his button up shirts, causing Kate to look at him with an eyebrow cocked.

"Uh, what about Alexis?"

"What about her?" Rick started towards the door when Kate cut him off.

"Is she not going to assume something if I'm wearing your clothes?"

"Kate, she's five years old, she doesn't even know what sex is." Kate sighed and shrugged.

"I guess. Where's your bathroom so I can change?" Rick pointed her to the bathroom and Kate shut the door behind her, locking it. She placed the clothes onto the counter and stood in front of the mirror, analyzing herself. She wasn't wearing makeup and her hair was in a messy bun.

Kate walked out of the bathroom, not yet changed, and found Rick cooking in the kitchen.

"Do you mind if I take a bath?" Rick turned around and blinked.

"Uh, yeah sure, towels are in the closet in my room." Kate smiled and thanked him, walking back into his room. She grabbed a towel and started the water.

Half an hour later, new bandages on her head, dressed in Rick's clothes, Kate walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. She didn't see Rick, so she walked back into the kitchen and found a note on the table.

_Off to get Alexis, be back soon. R x_

Kate tossed the note back down on the table and took a deep breath. If she was going to be staying here, she should probably get a look around, right? She wouldn't go upstairs, just the living room, the kitchen, get a feel of the place. After Kate went through almost 400 of their DVD's, she decided to check out the room next to the living room.

Kate pushed the door opened and walked into the room. It had bookcases on two of the four walls, and a desk against the back wall. There was a laptop on the desk and papers scattered all around it. Assuming it was his study, Kate made her way to the bookcases.

She ran her fingers over the spines of the books, her smile growing as she recognized most of the books. She'd expected a different assortment. She'd expected Russian writers and German writers; she hadn't expected John Steinbeck and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Pulling a few of the books off the shelf, she made her way to the second bookcase and pulled a few more books from over there too. Kate walked back into the living room and set down the six books she gathered on the table, sitting cross legged on the couch.

Kate picked up _The Pearl_ by John Steinbeck, and let herself be reeled into the tale.

xxxxxx

What Kate had assumed was hours later, she felt large hands on her shoulders shaking her awake. Kate lifted her head off of the pillow she had evidently fallen against and uncrossed her legs. Her finger was still on a page in the book and she flipped it open to find that she'd only gotten as far as when Kino found the pearl.

Kate looked up and saw Rick leaning over her. Rick's eyes moved from her temple back to her eyes and he smiled a light smile, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her off of the couch.

"I… Found your study," Kate said as her hand came up to touch her head. She hissed in pain when her finger pressed against the wound on her temple to find it wet. She drew her finger away and saw that the wound had bled through the gauze.

Rick gently lifted the gauze off of her head and walked her to the bathroom, holding her waist when she stumbled into him trying to walk. Dropping the gauze into the barrel, he set her on the toilet and opened the cabinet to get a new wrapping.

Kate waited patiently as Rick set the gauze in her lap, grabbed a washcloth, and wet it. He dabbed her wound, being safe to only wash off the blood and not re-open the cut even more. He wrapped the gauze around her head and stood when he was finished.

"Alexis is upstairs. I just got home from picking her up and found you asleep. She's changing and then I'm going to make her a snack. You up for it?" Kate nodded her head and took Rick's outstretched hand, walking into the kitchen to find Alexis sitting at the table.

"Kate!" Alexis jumped off of the chair and ran to Kate, wrapping her arms around her legs and making Kate take a few steps back. Kate laughed when Rick scolded her because of Kate's injury and picked up the girl. Alexis smiled at Kate and put her hands on both sides of Kate's face, kissing both of her cheeks.

Kate placed two slobbery kisses back on Alexis' cheeks and Rick watched as they both laughed, Kate setting Alexis back on the ground.

"So, Mr. Chef, what are you going to make for us?" Kate sat at the table and leaned against the table, finding that it didn't take Alexis long to follow her suit.

"Well, ladies, what would you like?" Rick leaned against the counter across from the table and folded to his arms, listening to the suggestions they were throwing at him.

Later that night, after Alexis was asleep, Rick and Kate were sitting on the couch.

"Uh, Rick?" Kate asked after a few seconds of silence. Rick turned to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, and Kate's head fell on his shoulder.

"Mmm?" He asked, kissing the top of her head.

"Where am I sleeping?" Kate turned her head to look up at him.

"Uh, wherever you want I guess? We have a guest bedroom." Kate's face scrunched up and Kate kissed Rick's cheek, his jaw, and then his neck before resting her head back onto his shoulder.

"I was in your room earlier. Your bed looks big enough for two." Kate said the words so quiet that Rick struggled to even hear them correctly.

"I- Kate-"

"I don't mean sex, Rick. I just want.. I feel safe. With you." Rick cupped her face and Kate turned her face to look at him. He leaned down and kissed her lightly. It was small, short, but filled with much more than lust, want, need. It was filled with care, and love and security.

Kate had thought about this a lot since the incident in the car. They'd only been dating for a little over a month; she wasn't going to have sex with the man. As much as she doesn't want to say she's in love with him, she can't stop from feeling that she's falling. Kate pulled back and wrapped her arms around Rick's waist, burying her face in his chest.

Hours later, when everyone else was asleep, Rick lay awake, staring at the woman in his arms.

Kate.

He couldn't believe they'd gotten this far in a month. He couldn't believe that she went from the girl who he first met at a college would be lying in his arms right now. He couldn't believe how pieced together she'd become since she met him.

He knew she was broken, and lost, and she still came through with him. She didn't follow him, and he didn't follow her, they went together. They trusted each other and Rick knew that was something that was hard for Kate to do. For only knowing Kate for a month, he felt like he'd known her his whole life.

Rick placed his arm loosely back around her waist and buried his face in her hair, only to have her lean closer into his chest.

Rick let sleep take him over as a smile rested on his lips.

_A/N: Sorry this is late, and sorry this sucks! I'm just not feeling too inspired to write lately! (Inspiration usually hits when I'm in school, and it's the weekend so meh~) I will have chapter sixteen up tonight, (even if it's a tad late) but I probably won't be updating until next Wednesday or Friday. Enjoy as always, and review! I love hearing what you guys think _


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: I own my imagination… That's about it!_

Light shown through the window and onto Kate's face, causing her to groan and face her body the other way. Right into Rick's chest. She figured he was still asleep and rested her forehead on his chest, wrapping an arm around his body.

"Mm, morning," Rick mumbled. Kate looked up at him with sleepy eyes and give him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Hi," Kate smiled, laying her head back on his chest.

"Wouldn't it be nice to wake up every morning like this?" Rick smiled and Kate laughed into his chest.

"Just without the headache," Kate said, removing her arm from around his waist and resting it against her forehead. "My head feels like it's going to explode."

"Well, when was the last time you took the medication you were prescribed?" When Kate didn't answer, Rick looked down at her and lifted her chin. "Kate?"

"I'm not taking those meds," Kate replied, still completely avoiding eye contact with him.

"Kate,"

"No, I don't want to. I never take pills or medication. Not even when I'm throwing up. I haven't taken medicine since I had the chicken pox and I'm not going to start now."

"What about your headache?" Rick prodded, now sitting cross legged with Kate in his lap, his arms still wrapped around her from behind.

"Eh," Kate's shrugged. "I'll deal with it." Rick sighed and Kate looked up at him.

"I don't approve of that, you know." He kissed her cheek, and made his way down to her neck. A small groan escaped from her lips and she pulled away, standing up.

"I'm going to the bathroom, and you're going to go wake up Alexis." Rick stood and walked out of his room, but not before calling over his shoulder,

"Bossy. I like it." Kate laughed and shut the door behind her. She found towels in a closet in the bathroom and decided to take a quick shower. Running back into Rick's room, she grabbed a change of clothes, her toothbrush, and her cherry-scented shampoo.

When Kate walked out of the bathroom, she could smell eggs. And.. Pancakes? She tossed the extra clothes in her bag and walked into the kitchen in black jeans and a light yellow V-neck.

"Morning," Kate kissed Alexis' temple and sat in a chair next to her. "Are those pancakes?" Rick turned to her, wielded with a spatula.

"That they are, Kate." He smiled and turned back to the stove, turning it off and placing the pancakes onto a plate. Bringing the plate to the table, he handed the two girls plates and forks of their own, and they started to eat when Martha came down the stairs.

"Well isn't this a normal family breakfast!" Martha said as she walked into the kitchen, causing Kate to choke on the piece of pancake she was chewing. Kate's face warmed up as she took a drink of her milk and she averted her eyes to her plate.

After a few silent minutes, Martha stood up, said she'd be home later, and walked out of the house. Rick told Alexis to go pick out an outfit for the day and she ran up the stairs to her room.

"Kate, I'm-"

"No, it's fine. It's really fine." Kate looked up at him and smiled.

"Really, I didn't know she was going to-" Rick was cut off by Kate's phone ringing in his room.

"Sorry," Kate mouthed as she ran to the room to get the phone.

"Well, where are you?" Rick heard Kate say when he walked into the bedroom after her. He stopped at the door and watched her. He could tell her shoulders were tense, and her body was stiff. She had the arm that wasn't holding the phone wrapped around her stomach and she was standing in front of Rick's bed.

"Alright. I'll be there soon." Kate hung up the phone and turned, tossing her phone on the bed.

"You're back at work?" Rick asked, making his way to in front of where Kate was standing.

"I-" tears pricked at her eyes and her throat was constructed. Kate looked down at the floor and cleared her throat. "My dad just got out of rehab."

"Kate," Rick placed his hands on her arms. Was she.. Angry? Sad? They'd never talked about her father; Rick didn't know how she felt about him.

"I just. I haven't even seen him since he went into rehab. He hasn't tried to call me or talk to me or anything. I'm always the one calling just to make sure he isn't dead. You know he went into rehab only two months after my mom died? He not once even asked how I felt about her death or whether I was okay or not. All he thought about was himself. All he thinks about is himself. He suddenly calls and wants me to meet him because he's so happy to be out, but he can't bother to pick up a phone when he was in there? How is that fair to me?" By now, Kate was sobbing and Rick's arms were around Kate. They were sitting on his bed, Rick rocking her in his arms.

Rick soothed Kate and held her as she cried. Minutes had gone by before the two heard a small knock on the door.

"Kate?" Alexis' hands were together and she was standing at the door in a white dress covered in blue and pink flowers. Kate lifted her head from Rick's chest and rubbed at her face, kneeling on the floor in front of Alexis.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Do you need a hug?" Kate let out a teary laugh and cupped Alexis' face in her hands.

"Sure, Alexis," Kate pulled Alexis to her and Alexis buried her face in Kate's shoulder, her arms around Kate's neck. After a few minutes, Alexis pulled away and kissed Kate's forehead, causing Kate to smile and stand up.

"Uh, I should probably go."

"I can come if you want." Rick stood from the bed and walked to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"No, you have to watch Alexis."

"I can drop her at her friend Paige's house. It's fine, Kate." Kate smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek, a silent thank you.

Around twenty minutes later, Kate, Alexis, and Rick were walking out of Rick's apartment, on their way to see Kate's dad. Rick sighed as he locked the door. He didn't expect the first time meeting her father would be like this. Kate, sensing this, laced her fingers through his and Rick looked into her eyes.

Rick kissed Kate, letting her know he understood the apology that was showing in her eyes.

"It'll be fine." Kate tried to smile, but it fell into a flat line instead as they walked into the elevator. "It'll be fine." Rick whispered once more once the elevator doors were closing. "I promise."

_A/N: I didn't expect that either! I started writing this chapter and was suddenly like 'hey I think we should do this!' (Actually, it was more my hands that said it, but that's okay, I'll take the blame.) I hope you enjoy this one! The next one will be up later this week. Read, enjoy and review! _


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: I do not own!_

Showing up at the library was harder than Kate had expected, even with Rick there. She gripped his hand tightly and stopped in front of the doors.

"I haven't been here since my mom died," she whispered. "We used to come here every Sunday and sit in the corner of the science fiction section and read for hours." Rick put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "I can't do this, Rick." Kate turned to walk away, but Rick held her still.

"Hey, look at me." When she finally did, he noticed there were tears in her eyes. "You are stronger than him. I don't think he did this on purpose, Kate. I don't think he deliberately came here. But since you are here, and he knows this place means something to you, you can show him how much stronger you really are." Rick wiped the few tears that had made their way down Kate's face and smiled. "Come on."

As soon as Kate entered the library, she regretted it. She saw her father leaning against a far wall and he smirked when he noticed Rick's hand had gone white from Kate squeezing it.

"Katie Bear!" Jim exclaimed. It was Sunday, and it was closed. Kate had the key since an old friend of her mother's owns it, but she didn't know how Jim got a key. He opened his arms to her and his expression fell when Kate backed away and out of his reach.

"Uh, this is Rick," Jim extended a hand and Rick shook it, his other still being held by Kate. Jim gasped when he looked at their hands and saw a flash from Kate's finger.

"Katie – you're – that's Johannas." He whispered, looking up at Kate's face. Rick was looking at her too now, not remembering the ring being taken off its chain.

"I – my chain broke and I didn't want to lose it," Kate responded, her eyes set on the floor.

"Who gave you that?" Jim asked.

"Mom gave it to me in her will."

"Why would she do that?" Kate looked up at him and looked at his eyes, seeing – anger? Why was he angry? "Why wouldn't she want it buried with her? If I died I would want my ring buried with me! Why would she give it to you? She loved me! And I loved her!" Jim stepped closer to Kate, his voice rising to a yell. "Why did she give it to you, Kate? Did you ask for it when you were a little girl?"

"No, I – "

"No. She gave it to you because she didn't have anything else to give you? Is that it? She knew I would freak out so she gave you her ring?" He leaned to her hand, reaching to grab the ring off, but was surprised when Rick stepped in between Kate and him.

"That's enough!" Kate almost jumped at Rick's outburst and was even more shocked when he moved himself even more directly in front of her. "I know you're angry right now, but you have absolutely no right to be telling at Kate. She is just as hurt as you are, and probably more and that does not mean you can talk to her as if she's weak and tumbling to the ground because with all due respect, Mr. Beckett, she is not. And it is not her fault that you didn't take the time to notice that."

"Katie –" Jim stepped around Rick, "I never plated you as weak. I was hurting myself."

"No," and now Kate was angry. "No, you don't get to play the victim card because you know what? I was young. I am young and guess what?" Kate pulled her badge from her belt loop and held it up to his face. "I'm a homicide detective, and I did that on my own. Mom didn't help because she couldn't, but you? You don't get to think I'm weak because I wasn't the one who ran away from my family and into the bottle. That was you. You're weak."

And then she walked out. Kate ran across the street and she didn't stop running when she made it to the other side. She was suddenly extremely grateful she was wearing casual flats. Before she realized where she was, Kate was running through the park with tears streaming down her face. Finally stopping, Kate put her hands on her knees and bent over, catching her breath. Standing up again, she made her way to the nearby swing set and sat on the tallest swing. It was the one she used to sit on when she came here with her mom. And that just brought on fresh tears and heavier legs. Kate pumped her legs, flattening and bending them with each push she made on the swing. Even when she saw someone sit next to her and watch her swing, she just pumped her legs faster and faster. When she finally stopped and let her feet hit the ground, she turned to Rick.

"How did you find me?" Kate looked up at the sky, feeling a raindrop hit her nose.

"You ran. I figured there was only one place you'd run."

"I'm sorry. For how I acted back there." Kate gasped when the one raindrop she felt on her nose turned into down pouring and in less than thirty seconds, she and Rick were soaked. Rick stood, pulling Kate up with him and wrapping an arm around her waist. He kissed her forehead and led them back to his apartment. "Why are you acting so nice to me? After how I acted?"

"Kate, really?" She looked down when he continued, "I'm trying to do anything but turn your father against you. I don't want you to have to feel like the world is going to be mad at you because you yell for the first time in a while. And honestly, I don't blame you. Growing up, I didn't have a father around and my mother always had her shows. I blamed her too. For not being there for me." Kate stopped and looked up at him.

"Really? You're such a good father to Alexis." Rick smiled and pulled her along, an arm still around her waist.

"Thank you, Kate."

"Do you think I should talk to him? See if he's got a place to stay for the night?"

"Kate I think you should do whatever is comfortable for you. Do what's good for you for once." Kate smiled and kissed him softly.

"Do you mind driving me to wherever he is?" Rick nodded at the doorman as he walked into his apartment building.

"Yeah, let me just call the car –"

"No," she interrupted, "Not the car, you." The pair walked into the elevator and Rick nodded.

"Of course." They smiled at each other for a minute before Kate pulled back and wrinkled her nose.

"Change first. You smell like wet dog."

xxxxx

Kate stepped out of the car and was headed toward to the building before Rick even shut the car off. Once he caught up to her, Kate and he stepped into the elevator of the hotel. Kate fidgeted with her hands and when she started bouncing on her heels, Rick put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kate, he's your father, it's going to be okay."

"Yeah and what if he's drunk or something? I bet he is. What if he relapsed because of what I said, Rick?"

"He didn't, Kate. I don't think he would." The elevator opened and they stepped into the hallway. "Kate." Rick grabbed her hand and kissed her cheek lightly. "It'll be alright." She smiled and turned to the door in front of her and rapped three times. Kate and Rick both jumped when the door swung open, revealing a smiling Jim Beckett.

"Ricky! Katie! Come in!" They moved in past him and Rick brushed his thumb over her wrist, almost keeping her near him. Protecting her. From what? Her father? "Hey Ricky!"

"Uh, hello, sir." Rick glanced at Kate and she reached out and touched her fathers arm.

"Katie bear! Do you hear this boy? Sir!" He laughed and Kate leaned into her father's hug, but instantly pulled out. Kate gasped and leaned into him again, sniffing his collar.

"Are you –" Kate turned and quickly walked into the living area and came back with a bottle of whiskey in her hand. "You're drunk!" Kate stepped back and before Rick could react, smashed the bottle on the floor.

"Kate!"

"Katie!" Rick and Jim yelled at the same time.

"No!" She yelled back, walking again into the living area. Rick ran in after her and caught her hand raised halfway in the air, about to release a second empty bottle.

"Kate, don't –" She finally let the bottle slip out of her hand and into Rick's, not hesitating to run out of the hotel room, without a glance back at her father. She finally let the tears run down her cheeks when she neared the end of the hallway. Stepping onto a door that was labeled 'Stairs' she squatted in the corner and let her head fall in her hands.

"Kate!" Rick rushed through the door and Kate lifted her tear filled eyes to meet his. "Oh, Kate," he walked to where Kate sat and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, letting her head rest against his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears.

_A/N: I…. Blame my brain. This chapter and everything after this was not what I at all intended to do. But… I guess here you go? I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I've updated. I've had school and I've also had a huge writers block with this story. I have the next chapter written already, I just need to type it up. Thank you, if you're still with me! I promise to get more updates sooner! _


	18. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle._

_"Kate!" Rick rushed through the door and Kate lifted her tear filled eyes to meet his. "Oh, Kate," he walked to where Kate sat and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, letting her head rest against his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears._

_xxxxxx_

Kate was up at five o'clock, grabbing Rick's key off of his keyring, and had already run around nine miles before she felt her phone vibrating on her hip.

"Beckett," she panted, walking back up the steps of Rick's apartment building.

"Yo, Beckett! Are we interrupting something?" Kate rolled her eyes hearing Esposito and Ryan's laugh.

"I was running, actually," Kate walked off of the elevator and down the hallway to Rick's door, pulling out her key and slipping it in, hoping Rick was still sleeping.

"Yeah, okay," Ryan mumbled.

"Where were you yesterday?" Esposito cut in as Kate locked the door.

"I was busy. I'll be in today if we get a case," she replied quietly, taking the steps two at a time to get to the guest bedroom. She lifted the bag that was near the door, (had she left that in her car?) and walked into the bathroom. "Hey, I gotta go."

"See you later, Beckett," Esposito and Ryan answered before she hung up. Kate nearly dropped the phone when she flipped the light on, setting her bag on the sink.

"Holy-" Kate walked to the shower-bath and crouched beside it. There were jets on the tub inside, two on each side, two on each end. Hmm. Kate glanced at her watch. 7:30. Smiling, Kate stood and stripped, pulling the faucet and starting the water, filling it to the rim of the tub. She attached her iPod to the dock on the sink and put it on a low volume, stepping into the tub.

Kate sat in the tub for a second, and then pulled her knees up and ducked under the water with her eyes closed. When she came back up, she leaned against the back of the tub and sighed. Oh, Rick.

_Kate leaned against the wall next to Rick, who pulled her into his lap once the sobs started escaping from her mouth. Kate's hands were shaking and Rick didn't know what to do, so he just held her, kissing the crown of her head and rocking her back and forth. When a woman walked up the stairs and saw the pair, she reached into her purse and pulled out a few tissues, handing them to Rick before giving Kate a sad smiling and continuing to walk up the stairs. _

"_Will you take me home?" Kate asked softly, taking the tissues Rick was handing her. Rick nodded soundlessly and stood, wrapping an arm around Kate's waist and letting her head fall to his shoulder. Kate didn't even care when Rick opened his front door and led Kate in when she asked to be taken 'home.' She liked it here. With him. Kate slipped her shoes off and walked to the couch, laying down and falling asleep almost the minute her head hit the pillow. _

_Kate groaned as she felt herself being lifted up and cracked her eyes open to see Rick carrying her up the stairs._

"_Mm, Rick."_

"_Kate, just sleep in the guest bedroom. Please?" Kate nodded and sighed when Rick laid her down. She crawled under the covers and into a ball, the blankets making a cocoon around her. After a few minutes, Rick leaned down and kissed her temple, whispering a barely audible, "I love you, Kate." _

Kate knew Rick thought she was sleeping, but she wasn't then and she isn't now. Kate opened her eyes and quickly became aware of the water being cold. Stepping out of the tub and pulling the drain, she turned to the sink._ Oh, shit_. A towel. Cursing under her breath, Kate grabbed the blue bathrobe on the back of the door and slightly cracked the bathroom door. When she didn't see anyone, she made a quick run to the nearby closet – which she hoped was a closet for linens – and opened it, mentally pumping a fist. Grabbing a towel, she quickly shut the door and screamed. She could feel the heat traveling up her neck and onto her face as she ran around him and back to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her, leaving Rick with a dumbstruck look on his face.

When Kate was finished getting dressed, (and drying off) she walked downstairs and saw Rick behind the stove. He smiled when he saw her and laid the just finished pancakes onto a plate, pushing it in front of her. He got a few more for himself and they ate in peace, not mentioning what had happened this morning.

"Alexis was dropped off when you were sleeping, Paige's parents had to go out, so she's upstairs." Rick said, taking their plates and putting them in the sink.

"I didn't wake her, right?" Kate crossed her ankles and swung them in and out of the bottom of her chair.

"No, you didn't, I was just letting you know," he smiled at her and leaned back in his chair. "What?" He asked after a minute of her staring at him.

"We haven't even been dating for three months, Rick," Kate sighed, looking down. "And last night-"

"Last night you weren't asleep," he doesn't look angry, which is good, and he doesn't look upset, which is also good. "Kate, I-"

"If you're just going to apologize, please don't finish that sentence," Kate stood and took a mental step back, but Rick wasn't far behind her. He walked to her and rubbed her arms, kissing her forehead.

"I'm not going to apologize, just – let me finish, okay?" She nodded and he continued. "It wasn't an act of impulse, or sympathy, at all. I do love you, Kate." She tried to hide her surprise but he chuckled when her eyes grew wide and she looked down. "And I know it seems crazy because of how long we've known each other, but Kate time does not determine love." Rick cupped her cheeks and kissed her softly.

"You're corny," Kate breathes finally, his lips still hovering hers.

"I'm a writer, Kate." He kissed her again, and then moved away to kiss her neck, Kate tilting her head to the side to allow him.

"Rick –" She pushed him back and ran her fingers through her hair. "Hi, Alexis. There's breakfast if you want some." Alexis shook her head and walked to Rick, resting her forehead on his knees and wrapping her arms around his legs.

"'M tired," She mumbled and he bent down to pick her up, groaning.

"You sure that's all, pumpkin?" Rick asked. She lifted her head and reached her arms out to Kate.

"Kate," when Kate took her, Alexis wrapped her arms around Kate's neck. "Are you better now?" Kate smiled and kissed Alexis on the top of her head.

"I'm not great, sweetie, but I will be," Alexis' arms tightened around her neck and Rick leaned against the counter, smiling at Kate. She smiled back and let Alexis slip into a nearby chair.

"You want some pancakes?" Alexis nodded with a grin and Kate handed her a plate. Moving next to him, Kate took Rick's hand and kissed his palm.

"We'll talk later. Promise," she smiled when he kissed her lightly on the forehead and then looked back to Alexis.

"What did you say, Alexis?" He asked, not hearing Alexis' question. Alexis gulped down her forkful of pancakes and crossed her arms on her lap.

"Daddy, are you and Kate married?" Kate stiffened and slapped Rick's shoulder when he barked out a laugh.

"No, we're not married," Kate responded while Rick caught his breath.

"Are you going to get married?"

"I–"

"We've never discussed it, Alexis. Why do you want to know?" Kate turned to Alexis and Alexis tilted her head to the side.

"Do you guys want to get married?"

"Er.." Kate and Rick looked at each other and Rick had a small hint of a smile at his lips. Marrying Kate Beckett. _Hmm_. "Honey, why do you ask?"

"Because I want you to get married."

"Well–" Kate breathed a sigh of – relief? – when she heard her phone go off. "Christ," she mumbled before pulling her hand from Rick's and walking up to the guest room.

When she returned a few minutes later, dressed in her clothes from yesterday, Rick and Alexis were doing the dishes, Rick washing and Alexis putting them into the dishwasher. She smiled at them before Rick turned to smile at her.

"Hey, I just got called in to work," she smiled sadly and Alexis pouted, "I'll see you later Alexis!" She kissed the crown of her head and then glanced at Rick. "Walk me out?"

Nodding, he took her hand and walked to the door. Taking her jacket off the rack he slipped it through her arms, pulling her into a hug when both of her arms were in. She rested her forehead on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Are you sure you want to go in?" Rick asked, kissing her temple.

"It's my job, Rick," she replied, her words muffled by his shirt.

"Alright," he sighed and pulled away from her, cupping her cheeks. "We can talk later, but I do love you, Kate." She smiled at him and kissed him lightly.

"I'll call you later?" She opened the door and he kissed her again.

"Mm, yeah." He watched her walk to the elevator and waved at her as it was closing. Rick walked back into his loft, letting the lock click behind him. He really loves her. _After a few weeks?_ His mind battled with him.

_Yes. _

_A/N: Alright. This is so late. This is like a month late. I can explain. I'm really really sorry for the late update. (Super late update!) It's fourth quarter, and I need to make sure all of my work is handed in and make sure I study more than usual, because I have the MCAS. I took my English MCAS in march, but I just finished the math MCAS & the Biology MCAS is on June 5__th__ and 6__th__. Then I have finals. Then we get report cards and school is over. So it's pretty hectic, but I promise *holds pinky out* I'm going to start updating a lot more and lot quicker! Thanks for sticking with me if you're still here! Don't forget to click the little review button! _


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